


Idiots

by sunshinsou



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Amusement Parks, Blind Date, First Kiss, Flirty Oikawa Tooru, Fluff, Getting Together, Guilt, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Iwaizumi Hajime, Pining, Pining Iwaizumi Hajime, Plushies, Self-Doubt, Stargazing, doubts, fake date, so much pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26948095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinsou/pseuds/sunshinsou
Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime is in love with his best friend, Oikawa Tooru. He never thought it would go anywhere, but when Oikawa comes out as bisexual, he can't help but get his hopes up. That is, until Oikawa decides to go on a date with another guy.  To no one's surprise, Hanamaki and Matsukawa decide they want to help.[currently being edited... wtf is this]
Relationships: Hanamaki Takahiro & Matsukawa Issei, Hanamaki Takahiro/Iwaizumi Hajime/Matsukawa Issei/Oikawa Tooru, Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 9
Kudos: 164





	1. Ages

**Author's Note:**

> Heya!  
> Soooo, this is kind of the first thing I've ever written. I'm super unsure about the formatting, but hopefully it'll be fine! Feel free to leave any type of criticism. Also, I suck at writing Oikawa, please don't kill me!
> 
> This idea wasn't fully mine, so I wanna give credit to my lovely friend, Max !!(@pinks.petal on insta)!!
> 
> Now please enjoy & have a good day!
> 
> [This is being edited rn.. please forgive me for how trashy this is]

Ages. That was what Iwaizumi Hajime said any time someone asked him how long he’s been friends with Oikawa. It was more or less the truth.

Oikawa Tooru has been his friend since he was a child. Their mothers have been friends just as long. Their fathers have been friends even longer. “It must be something in our blood, that just makes our families such good friends!” His mother had told him.

Quite honestly, Hajime would have easily disagreed back then. He remembered even telling her exactly that once, because Oikawa had been particularly annoying that day. He used to feel the need to punch him pretty much every time he had been forced to see him, or talk to him – which was more often, than he liked to think about.

Oikawa – with his perfect face. That angelic smile, which would always get the adults to take his side in every argument they had. That stupid, smug look on his face when he got what he wanted. The shimmering in his eyes when Iwaizumi agreed to watch another Alien cartoon with him. That horrible, horrible mouth he had, that always spit out the most random and frustrating things, like that terrible nickname he still uses to this day.

Thinking about it like this, he realized one thing; his best friend – yeah, he still sometimes asked himself why he would use that label for him – hadn’t really changed since then. Apparently, he himself hadn’t changed that much either though, because he still felt the need to punch the guy right in his handsome face all the time.

There was one major difference though, and it had been haunting him for years now. As badly as he wanted to punch him, he also wanted to hold him occasionally. He wanted to make sure he was alright, help him through whatever problems he was facing, and maybe even some more, if he got the chance– not that he thought he ever would.

Iwaizumi Hajime had fallen deeply in love with his oldest and closest friend, and he’s kind of really stuck in place because of it.

* * *

He had known ever since he was fifteen.

Back then, they had just entered high school together. That year, Iwaizumi had spent many nights awake, wondering if his best friend was going to follow him to Aoba Johsai or if he was going to take one of the many other offers he had gotten.

The thought of being alone, maybe even a distance between the two of them developing was a scary thought. He didn’t want to imagine it, but he couldn’t stop. And that was when he realized that, as annoying as Oikawa might be, he had always been a part of his life, and it would be incredibly strange if he suddenly wasn’t anymore.

He never thought that Oikawa was a bad person, but only on that day had he realized the amount, and depth of feelings he had for him.

His best friend was caring, determined, confident, loving, social. Even if he acted like a little shit with an ego too big to fit this world, he could make friends with anyone, make everyone laugh and have a good time – at least if he wanted to.

They were traits Iwaizumi had never thought about all that much, but suddenly they seemed so meaningful. They were things he couldn’t say about himself, which is why they made him admire Oikawa even more.

And well, after figuring out how much he liked Oikawa, despite how often he made him want to explode or smash something, it didn’t take much longer to figure out that most of these feelings were not so platonic after all. With this, he didn’t have as much of an easy time accepting the facts though.

He kept telling himself that he was just imaging things, even tried talking to a girl once, just to find out he couldn’t stop thinking about why he was there, doing this – wanting to distract himself from his stupid crush on Oikawa.

Apart from that, homophobia was sort of a thing. He might be tough from the looks of it, but even thinking about telling anyone didn’t seem like an option. He wasn’t sure what or who exactly he was so scared of. He had never heard his parents or his friends say anything bad about gay people in particular, so technically, that could have worked out fine. Maybe it was just the fact that he wouldn’t be part of the social norm.

So, when, a year later, he finally came to accept himself, his feelings for his best friend, and the fact that he’ll probably end up as a lonely old man, he decided he would never tell anyone about his suffering. Never, not even when asked.

But then, one day in his second year of high school, he was hanging out with his best friend. It really wasn’t special at all. In fact, it was sort of boring.

Saturday. They had just arrived at Oikawa’s place, settled down on his bed and put on Iwaizumi’s favorite movie, that they had seen about 500 times by now, because Oikawa had decided he wanted to be nice for today.

Iwaizumi remembers the day so clearly. He can basically taste the popcorn he was eating, feel Oikawa’s legs tangled with his, as they had just fought for the space with more pillows, and hear the sounds the small tv was making, when he thinks about it.

He knows he was trying to keep his cool, because fuck – they were touching pretty much from shoulder to toe and how was he supposed to stay calm in a situation like that?

Eventually, he had decided to shove him away, and Oikawa had laughed, but whined about how he had been so comfortable just now. Then suddenly it was quiet and he glanced over to see Oikawa staring off into space. “I’m bisexual, by the way,” Oikawa had said, like it was the most normal thing to just state out of nowhere.

Iwaizumi’s first thought was a happy one. Maybe he’d have a chance after all. But then he knew this shouldn’t be how he reacts, or about him and his own feelings at all, so he shook his head to stop himself from going on.

This was about his best friend, who just came out to him, which proved that he was infinitely braver than Iwaizumi could ever be. Honestly, it sort of just made him like the guy even more, if that was possible.

He hadn’t even realized how quiet he had been. Not until Oikawa had whipped his head around to look at him, eyes wide and lips curled downward into a fearful frown. “Say something, please?” he had asked then, and it was probably the first time he had heard him be so openly insecure about something.

He hadn’t meant to make him feel even worse by not responding right away. It took everything in him not to apologize immediately, beg for Oikawa’s forgiveness right then and there. He managed to control himself and prevent Oikawa’s ego from growing even more, and having him look all smug because he had gotten an unnecessary apology out of Iwaizumi.

“Wow. Okay,” Iwaizumi finally managed, giving a little smile. He hadn’t noticed it either, but his own eyes were wide, and he looked visibly surprised. His heart was already beating fast, but as another second passed and a thought entered his mind, it probably beat so fast and hard that Oikawa could hear it. If he did, he didn’t mention it though, because it stayed entirely silent until Iwaizumi spoke again.

“Me too. Into guys, I mean. So, don’t think you’re special,” he choked out. Before he was sure he had heard himself say it, he was entirely red, blushing more deeply than ever before. And then Oikawa’s arms were wrapped around him, and he felt like he could die happy.

After that day, everything sort of went back to normal. Sure, they might have held onto each other for a long time after they came out to each other, but that was pretty much it. They didn’t really mention it afterwards, not even later that day. It was just something they knew about each other now, another sign of mutual trust. It wasn’t really world changing or anything. Especially not, because during that same year, Oikawa started dating.

The first time a girl confessed to him, he came running to Iwaizumi, immediately telling him about how weird it was, but how honored he felt. When Iwaizumi asked him if he had already given her an answer, he got a big grin from his best friend. “Of course I said yes, Iwa-chan! How rude would it be to not even give her a chance?”

Luckily, Iwaizumi had never been someone who showed his feelings openly, so his jealousy wasn’t too obvious. That’s what he always thought at least. His mind was shouting ‘You got me, idiot. You don’t need to be nice to some random girl’. He ignored it though. Instead, he nodded and smiled.

That was what happened pretty much any time Oikawa went out with a new girl. It was always girls, not even one guy. After a while, Iwaizumi got used to it. He kept telling himself that it was just girls. None of them would be able to keep up with them, none of them were real competition. Oikawa never stuck with them longer than a couple weeks anyway. Volleyball never once became anything less than his first priority, and his friends followed in second place.

Now that didn’t mean Iwaizumi didn’t envy everyone who got to hold his best friend’s hand, or even kiss him, openly show any type of affection. And to his disdain, unlike he had previously believed, people noticed.

By the time they reached the middle of their second year of high school, Matsukawa and Hanamaki, their two closest friends, found out about his feelings for the captain.

They had ambushed him after practice one day, when Oikawa was busy talking to the coach. At first, he had tried to deny it. Not only was he not out to them, but he was sure they wouldn’t be able to keep a secret like that to themselves. Oikawa would know within days, if not hours.

They kept asking, rather stating that it was true, because ‘Damn, Iwaizumi! You look at him like you’d rather die than let him date another person!’ and ‘Seriously, dude, you fucking radiate jealousy whenever he just looks at someone else!’.

So much for being able to hide his true feelings. Obviously, that made him worry that maybe Oikawa knew as well. His two friends quickly confirmed that their captain was too stupid to notice though, because he was in knee deep for Iwaizumi as well.

Maybe he would have believed that, or maybe he would have hoped for longer than a second, if not for what happened when Oikawa finally joined them that day. Just like he had predicted, the two of them couldn’t keep their mouths shut.

“So, how does it feel knowing that your best friend is in love with you?” Hanamaki had asked almost as soon as Oikawa walked in. And then, to Iwa’s surprise, Oikawa’s eyes widened, he glanced over at him for a split second, but the moment of panic was over before it had even begun.

Oikawa was smirking now, his eyes on Hanamaki. “You tell me,” he replied, and the redhead almost choked on his own spit. He quickly glanced over at Matsukawa, whose cheeks were now ten times redder. He was staring at the ground, laughing. Hanamaki went red as well, and at that point Iwaizumi was too confused, and annoyed to say or do anything else.

He could have sworn he felt Oikawa’s eyes on him that day as they walked home, but he never mentioned the second of eye contact he believed they had.

From that day on, he had always just laughed along whenever Hanamaki or Matsukawa teased them about being in love, and Iwaizumi’s hopes were pretty much gone.

Except, there was one thing he hadn’t expected. His friends’ desperate need to get them together.

It started out as fairly harmless things. They’d tease them all the time; talk about how they looked and acted like an old, married couple. ‘That’s because we’ve known each other since we were children, you idiots!’ Oikawa had replied with a roll of his eyes, but he was still smiling. It kind of made Iwa’s heart flutter if he was honest.

Then, over the next few months, their measures got more drastic. They kept daring each other to do really, really dumb things. ‘Iwaizumi, I dare you to kiss Oikawa!’ Matsukawa had laughed, probably already drunk from the one beer he’d had. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and shrugged it off as not wanting Oikawa’s filthy mouth even close to his. They had all laughed then, but he really wished he would have been less of a coward.

One day, Oikawa actually approached him, wanting to talk alone. He could have sworn his heart was going to beat right out of his chest that day, but it didn’t.

As soon as they were alone, Oikawa had started laughing. ‘Iwa-chan! You look like you think I’ll murder you or something! Relax,’ he had told him, before finally going on to explain what he really wanted.

To his relief, but also disappointment, Oikawa wanted to talk about how ‘Matsukawa and Hanamaki have to be projecting when they tease us! I mean, you’ve seen the way they look at each other, right Iwa-chan?’ And even though; no, he hadn’t noticed how in love they apparently were, he still said yes and agreed to help Oikawa with the stupidly bad plan he had.

‘It was an idiotic plan made by a damn idiot, so that two even bigger idiots could finally be together or something,’ was what Iwaizumi had told Yahaba when the guy asked what the hell was going on with the four of them, and why Iwaizumi was holding a gigantic poster that said ‘Just kiss already, you fucking fools!’ (Yes, he got to choose how they would say it).

Stupidly enough, Hanamaki and Matsukawa walked in together, saw the sign, looked at each other and then did exactly as told. When they pulled away after what felt like minutes – Iwaizumi had made sure to look away instead of watching like a big creep – Matsukawa was laughing until Hanamaki said ‘I won that dare!’

Once he was informed that this wasn’t a dare, but about them being absolutely whipped for each other – Matsukawa was almost crying then, probably wondering why he had to fall for someone this stupid – Hanamaki started laughing as well, let out a little ‘Oh’ before then officially asking his friend (?) out.

If only things could have been this easy for him and Oikawa – not that his two friends didn’t try that one as well. They actually almost begged the two of them to finally kiss, but Oikawa laughed again and Iwaizumi wasn’t about to embarrass himself or ruin their friendship.

* * *

So, this led them to where they were now.

It was their third year in high school. They had just finished a wave of exams, and his least favorite time of the year was coming up, Valentine’s day.

Iwaizumi was still deeply in love – yeah, no point in denying that it was anything other than that – with his best friend, Oikawa Tooru. Knowing Oikawa, he’ll get approximately thirty thousand confessions again, and Iwaizumi will be left alone to wonder which girl he decided to spend the day with this time. Or maybe it’ll be the whole weekend instead of just one day, considering that it was exactly one week until then, meaning it’ll be a Saturday this year.

Like that wasn’t bad enough, his other two close friends, Hanamaki and Matsukawa, just didn’t want to give up. They kept telling him that Oikawa was so obviously into him, kept begging him to make a move.

Honestly, they were probably more invested in what Oikawa and Iwaizumi could have than they were in their own relationship. But there was one simple reason he didn’t – well, there was multiple, but there was one that mattered most; he’s not oblivious. He would have noticed if his best friend and crush of many years was into him as well. He was sure.

And well, from his point of view, Oikawa didn’t seem even remotely interested. Tonight, this was confirmed once more.

They had met up at Matsukawa’s place. His parents weren’t at home and Hanamaki was staying over for the weekend. They wanted to hang out, sort of celebrate the exams they had already dealt with, and talk about what was still to come, like the spring tournament, graduation, and so on.

Iwaizumi was just about to get up and grab a new drink for himself and Oikawa, when Hanamaki suddenly shouted “Stop.” He had no idea what was going on, so he just stood there, staring at him, brows furrowed. Hanamaki laughed, “That face again, huh? Sit back down. We’re going to play a game now,” he explained.

An obligatory eye roll and a sigh later, Iwaizumi was sitting on the couch again. “What’s this stupid game then, huh? I thought you idiots just wanted to get drunk?”

Oikawa smiled at that, and Iwa immediately knew it was because he wasn’t the one being called an idiot for once. He rolled his eyes again, “Stop grinning, Shittykawa. You’re also here to get drunk. I know it,” he added, and quickly Oikawa’s smile turned into a frown.

Immediately, he regretted what he said and wanted to offer an apology. Luckily, his best friend’s face brightened into an evil grin a moment later, when he glanced over at him. “Oh? And you’re not?”

Well, he got him there. Luckily, he didn’t have to think of any type of comeback because Matsukawa spoke up again. “Okay, shut up everyone. We’re playing never have I ever. You say something you’ve never done, and whoever has is forced to take a shot,” he explained, grinning proudly by the end.

Iwaizumi immediately hated the idea, and it showed on his face. “You’re all absolute fucking lightweights, you can’t handle more than two shots, and I’m definitely not dealing with three drunk idiots tonight,” he frowned.

To his surprise, Oikawa laughed, and shook his head. “Come on, Iwa-chan! Don’t be a party pooper. It’s only me you’d have to deal with anyway,” he grinned, and fuck, Iwaizumi hated being in love with this bastard. He’d probably do anything he asked him to. When he looked over at the other two, they were grinning like they just won nationals, knowing damn well that Iwaizumi was going to do whatever Oikawa asked him to.

“Fine,” he finally sighed, sitting back down and getting comfortable next to Oikawa. Unexpectedly, the guy actually came a little closer, enough so their shoulders, arms, hips and legs were touching again. Jeez, his heart was going to explode if Oikawa kept doing shit like this. If only he knew how much of an effect, he had on him.

Matsukawa got up eventually, smiling widely when he came back a couple minutes later, shot glasses and multiple drinks in hand. Iwaizumi didn’t really want to know what they were, if he was honest. All of it would taste like shit anyway, so it didn’t matter.

As soon as everything was set up, Hanamaki decided he was going to start.

“Never have I ever… Hm, let’s start easy; Never have I ever had braces,” he grinned at them, then his eyes immediately found his boyfriend, and Matsukawa groaned. “What the fuck? Why? You know I’m the only one,” he sighed, leaned forward, filled his glass and took a shot.

Once he downed it, he groaned again, and shook his head. “Whatever, I’m next. Never have I ever dated someone without actually being interested in them,” he smiled devilishly.

This time, there was two people going for their shot glasses; Oikawa and Hanamaki. Iwaizumi furrowed his brows. He was surprised. “Huh? How? Who?” he asked, looking at Oikawa, who seemed fully focused on filling up his shot glass, so Hanamaki answered instead.

“Ah, you know, I was trying to distract myself from this stupid bastard being on my mind all the time,” he explained, pointing at Matsukawa, “So I guess that was kind of unfair to that one girl,” he stated, downing his drink right after. Oikawa followed, but didn’t seem like he was going to answer any time soon, so they moved on.

Oikawa was grinning. “Never have I ever made my best friend my boyfriend,” he said with a laugh, and hell, that one stung a little at first. But then, when Matsukawa rolled his eyes and leaned forward to take another shot, he said “Not yet at least,” and Iwaizumi could have sworn Oikawa blushed a little.

Or maybe he was just imagining things and he was actually flushed from the shot he drank just a moment ago. At this point, he wasn’t sure about anything anymore.

“Your turn, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa almost sang. He was probably already tipsy, considering he’d had other drinks before they started playing as well.

Iwa found himself thinking. He wanted to choose something that would make all three of them have to take a shot, just for revenge purposes. He didn’t really want to be playing this game after all.

Most of the things he hadn’t done though, were things that they had also never even attempted. Overall, all three of his friends did have more experiences in one field though. They didn’t outright talk about it all that often, so he wasn’t sure about the exact thing to say. Eventually, he decided though.

“Never have I ever kissed anyone,” he stated as plainly as he could, and a moment later Oikawa was laughing again.

“Iwa-chan! You’re supposed to say something you’ve never done before, idiot!” he chuckled. Matsukawa was laughing as well, but Hanamaki immediately read the rather annoyed expression on Iwaizumi’s face, and nudged his boyfriend so that he’d shut up.

As soon as Oikawa was the only one still laughing, he went quiet as well, looking at his friends. His expression seemed confused, then eventually it changed into sheer shock when he realized Iwa was absolutely serious.

“What?” he exclaimed, “How?” He sounded almost frightened as he spoke. “I know for a fact that there are tons of girls who’d go out with you!”

“And you also know I’m not interested in girls, Crappykawa, now drink the damn shot before I smash the glass in your face.” He sighed, annoyed, and just done with this whole game.

“Oh,” Oikawa simply said, like he should have known something but didn’t. It didn’t occur to him then, that Oikawa might have been genuinely surprised by the fact that he just said it like that, or that it was still true.

After all, Iwaizumi hadn’t been sure that this whole being bisexual thing wasn’t just something Oikawa had imagined, considering that he never once dated a guy after coming out to Iwaizumi. It obviously didn’t have to mean anything. They weren’t required to date guys, but considering that, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Oikawa had assumed something similar about him.

“Moving on,” Hanamaki said, lips pressed together like he was trying not to laugh at this stupid interaction. Idiot, Iwaizumi thought, but he kept his mouth shut this time.

“Never have I ever planned to go on a blind date,” Hanamaki stated confidently, his eyes moving to Oikawa the second he had finished the world ‘blind’.

Iwaizumi didn’t know what that was about, but seeing Oikawa’s expression change from a relaxed one, to a face that was confused, before ending up with something that looked like pure horror, was sort of hilarious. He couldn’t help but grin at that. Unlike him, Matsukawa didn’t even try to conceal the laugh that escaped him.

Oikawa frowned eventually, “Matsun, shut up! And Makki, you promised not to tell! Stupid!” he whined, shaking his head. “I trusted you, traitor,” he mumbled as he leaned forward to take a shot.

Only then, it dawned on Iwaizumi. Oikawa was planning to go on a blind date, and he hadn’t told him, but Hanamaki instead? Even worse, how did Makki manage to keep something like that to himself? Well, Matsukawa must have known – the way he laughed seemed like he had been waiting for this. So the three of them had kept this from him? Now that’s more than just a little disappointing.

“Shut up, Trashykawa. Just because you wanted to hide it from your beloved Iwa-chan! There’s no point to that anyway.”

Just the use of their nicknames for each other by someone else was already annoying Iwaizumi to his core. The thought of someone actually calling Oikawa trashy made his blood boil, and someone else daring to call him by a nickname that was reserved for Oikawa only, for more than a decade now, didn’t make him feel any less explosive.

Not like there was an actual risk of him freaking out about it, but his feelings were what they were, even if he didn’t let anyone see them.

When he finally managed to look up again, he saw all of them were looking at him. Oikawa was blushing deeply, and he felt his heart ache a little when he figured out that the miserable expression on his best friend’s face was fear.

So, he sighed and spoke up, “Why would I judge you for that? Are you stupid,” he more so stated than asked as he shook his head.

Oikawa visibly cringed at something, apparently at what he was going to say next, “Uh, because, well, it’s on Valentine’s day. It’s… also only for guys. I kind of thought you might laugh at me, Iwa-chan! About how it’s so cliché, and the only way I can meet guys is through a blind date! You know you would have made fun of me,” he frowned.

And well, the painful part was that he was kind of right. Iwaizumi most likely would have made a comment like that. That’s on being best friends for years now, isn’t it? Still, the assumption pissed him off, because if he had just said that he was serious about this, he wouldn’t have had to worry about anything.

“I wouldn’t have, if you had asked me to be serious, or told me that you weren’t joking about this, but okay. Sorry, I guess,” he frowned as well.

By then, Hanamaki had slowly gotten up and Matsukawa followed hesitantly. “We’re going to get some more beer from the garage,” one of them stated. Iwaizumi hadn’t paid enough attention to figure out who it was. Oikawa was looking down now. He seemed quite uncomfortable, and Iwa didn’t know what to do.

He meant what he said. He had never planned to make his own best friend feel bad about something, if it was genuinely important to him.

He hadn’t taken Oikawa to be someone who couldn’t handle it either though. Maybe this was the alcohol speaking. Maybe he was just sensitive because he didn’t do well on one of his exams. He fucking hated the thought anyway, so his frown stayed on his lips.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Oikawa nod. “Okay, Iwa-chan. Sorry for not telling you,” he mumbled, sounding way quieter now. Iwa nodded afterwards, but he stayed silent as well.

The next time he looked up was when Makki and Mattsun came back. “Huh, Oikawa?” Makki asked. Iwaizumi looked up then, seeing that his friend was now peacefully sleeping next to him. The distance between them – due to the moving to get drinks and shots – had gone unnoticed until now.

Actually, there was quite a few things he hadn’t realized until he was carrying Oikawa down the street, piggyback style, and looking back at the situation.

Oikawa was trying to meet guys, huh? Now why was the thought of that making him more jealous than any of the girls Oikawa had actually been with?


	2. Roller coasters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa's date is approaching, and Iwaizumi has trouble hiding his jealousy. So, Hanamaki and Matsukawa decide to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you find any mistakes! Other than that, enjoy :)

Since that night, about a week had passed. Six days to be exact. Tomorrow was Saturday, the day of Oikawa’s blind date, and Iwaizumi couldn’t get it out of his head.

He shouldn’t be bothered. He was used to Oikawa dating others. Besides he should be happy instead of jealous, considering their little argument from that Saturday had apparently been forgotten, because on Sunday morning Iwa simply got a text from his best friend thanking him for getting him home that night.

The week that had just passed seemed to have gone by fairly normally as well. He might have felt a little awkward at first, but nothing was really unusual. Except for the feelings of jealousy, he was feeling of course. It wasn’t even like Oikawa was already talking to someone, someone Iwa could be jealous of

He didn’t have any right to be jealous, which made this even more unbearable.

It was bad, especially because Oikawa might not even like whoever he gets paired up with on that date, but the thought of him not enjoying the evening ended up bothering Iwaizumi just as much.

So, Friday finally came to an end when practice was over. He couldn’t say the same for his contrasting feelings though. He wanted to feel happy for Oikawa, have him enjoy his time. At the same time, he was wishing it could be him instead, or that Oikawa wouldn’t be going on dates with guys at all. He wasn’t sure about anything he was feeling anymore.

That shouldn’t have been as much of a problem as it was. He should have just pretended his mind wasn’t constantly buzzing with new thoughts of Oikawa. It was easier said than done, though, so obviously his other friends noticed as well, and so did the rest of his team mates.

During the game, he had just shrugged it off as being tired, but he caught Oikawa’s concerned expression, and Hanamaki caught Iwaizumi catching Oikawa’s expression. He grinned, of course, like communicating through looks wasn’t a very normal thing to do for best friends.

Makki sort of looked like he just witnessed them confessing to each other, and that definitely pissed Iwa off. It made him want to punch the guy in the face a little, but sadly actual violence was something he was trying not to resort to as much anymore.

Apparently hitting someone in the head because they’re acting stupid is too immature. He obviously knew that, but what did it mattered when his idiot friends were really trying their luck? After hearing that it could get him suspended, or prevent him from being part of the team, he eventually gave up, though.

* * *

Now he was leaving the changing room, waiting outside, so that Oikawa and him could walk home together, like they did every day.

He checked his phone as he waited, but glanced up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His heart immediately started racing, thinking it was Oikawa, but as soon as Mattsun entered his line of sight, he calmed down again. “What?” he asked, expression as neutral as always.

“Nothing, man,” said Hanamaki, who finally came into sight as well. It must have been his hand on his shoulder. “You’re really in a bad mood today, huh? The whole week was kind of weird. Don’t tell me,” he interrupted himself with a laugh, “Don’t tell me it’s because of Oikawa’s date!”

Both of the idiots in front of him were laughing now. Iwaizumi sighed.

“Now would you look at that… I didn’t think you’d still be this whipped. Anyway, let’s hang out tomorrow then, so you don’t accidentally end up stalking the guy or whatever,” Makki suggested way too enthusiastically. Iwaizumi let out another sigh, then shrugged.

“I wouldn’t stalk him. I don’t even know where it is. And I’m not even acting weird. Besides…isn’t tomorrow Valentine’s? You’re not going to go on a date?” This time, he was the one to grin, “What? Trouble in paradise?”

Matsukawa rolled his eyes, “Keep dreaming. We go on dates, like, every day. Tomorrow we’re meeting the team at that amusement park they opened up just half an hour from here. I’m sure it’ll be full of people, but we want to challenge the first years a bit, you know? Besides, don’t you think it’ll be hilarious when Oikawa finds out his beloved team had so much fun without their captain?”

Iwaizumi considered for a moment. Especially the last part of that was true. He sighed, then shrugged again. “Text me the address later and I’ll think about it,” he mumbled.

Makki made a winning gesture, then started laughing and nodded. “Hell yeah, okay, but no word to Oikawa about it. We’re only telling him when we’ve taken enough pictures to make him regret all his life choices.” His grin was evil, and the worst part was, Iwaizumi couldn’t even blame him. It would definitely be hilarious once Oikawa found out, and maybe, just maybe, it would actually help him forget about his misery.

* * *

Soon enough, Saturday rolled around. The morning had been fairly stressful, with Iwaizumi trying to figure out what to bring to a damn amusement park, while Hanamaki wasn’t answering his texts and hadn’t even sent him the address the night before. He considered just not going after all, maybe texting Oikawa to ask how he was doing, or at least ask one of his other team mates for the address.

He quickly decided the first two options weren’t going to happen. He definitely needed a distraction from Oikawa, and even a text from him would probably make him freak out at this point.

It was inevitable, though. The two of them texted every day. So much, in fact, that Iwaizumi had started using emojis now. It was terrifying in a way, but also perfect.

Every night before he went to bed, he’d get to read Oikawa’s stupid opinions, concerns and achievements. They actually made falling asleep a little easier.

Right now, though, anything like that would just make him want to ask Oikawa to not go on that weird date. He definitely couldn’t do that to him, though, so, his only hope was that his best friend would be too busy getting ready to text him.

His hope paid off it seemed. By the time he was going to leave, he had gotten by without texting or receiving a text from anyone other than Matsukawa, who mentioned that Hanamaki had somehow broken his phone. Apparently, they were on their way to replace it, so he shouldn’t be surprised if they took a while longer, and just wait for them right next to the gates.

As soon as he was there, he did as he was told.

* * *

There were a lot of people around – even more than he had expected for a Saturday at a fairly small amusement park. Most of them weren’t actual couples though, which definitely came as a relief. He probably wouldn’t have been able to stop thinking about Oikawa then. Actually, he was still kind of thinking about him right now, so what did it really matter?

So lost in thought, there was quite a few things Iwaizumi hadn’t realized. For one, there was more people gathering where he was standing – none of them his actual team mates. Second, Hanamaki and Matsukawa were taking even longer than they had said they would. Third, the pair of eyes basically glued to him. And lastly, the person who was currently approaching.

“Are you Iwaizumi Hajime?” they asked, but immediately kept going when they saw his confused expression, “You signed up for the blind date but you didn’t register yet? I figured it was you from the photo… and you standing here,” the person explained, and at this point Iwa was entirely lost.

He couldn’t get a single word out before the very enthusiastic person in front of him continued explaining. “Your date is waiting right over there. We already assigned you before coming, based on interests and stuff, but I guess you’d know that from the website.”

“All the other pairs headed off already. We were worried we’d have to disappoint the gentleman waiting for you for a second, but then we spotted you!” they said happily.

By the time they were done, Iwaizumi was still standing in place, frozen. He had been handed some stupid chip card that would make it less expensive for them to pay, apparently. Then he was pointed in the direction of his date. His date. What the fuck?

This was Hanamaki’s and Matsukawa’s fault. He was sure, and he would kill them for it. Sadly enough, he was interrupted from further plans of homicide when someone stepped closer, probably whoever he was supposed to hang out with.

“Iwa-chan?” he heard, the voice sounding even more confused than he felt right now.

* * *

For a moment Iwaizumi really thought he couldn’t trust his ears… or eyes for that matter. When he had looked up, Oikawa was standing right there in front of him. He couldn’t really decipher the expression on his best friend’s face. He figured it was mostly surprise, just like his own, but that was only a guess.

His mind had stopped working long ago, and now that Oikawa was also here, he was definitely not thinking straight. Was the guy his date? His best friend? His stupid, stupid crush? This had to be some kind of dream… or maybe a nightmare.

He pinched himself once, then a second time. He was still here, and it hurt like shit. “Oh.” He managed. “The hell are you doing here?” he asked, finally coming to his senses a little.

Oikawa looked at him like he had just asked the most scandalous question he had ever heard. “What am I- What am I doing here? Iwa-chan!” he whined, “I told you I was going on a date today, so don’t act surprised! Why are you here? You didn’t mention you were coming! You even got mad at me for not telling you! You’re such a hypocrite.”

At first, he wasn’t even sure he heard anything Oikawa had said. He was too busy staring at him. He had definitely been right about one thing earlier; Oikawa had probably spent hours deciding on what to wear.

His outfit wasn’t too special, but it looked good on him. It wasn’t overly fancy, just the right amount. He was wearing a white shirt and a casual grey jacket, that almost looked like a sweater and matched his glasses quite well. Black jeans and his usual black and white shoes added to the seriousness, but still made it look effortless. He looked kind of great. Wait, what?

Then, finally, it was like another button had been pressed, a switch had been switched and a light went on in his head. “You’re my date? /This/ is the blind date you’ve signed up for? This was what that instructor was talking about?”

Now that was a tough one, but Oikawa shrugged. “Guess so. Huh,” he sighed, not really looking all that happy.

And of course, he wasn’t. He had every right to be upset. Iwaizumi had just destroyed any chance he could have had for a real date. Well, it wasn’t Iwaizumi’s fault, but Oikawa didn’t know that yet.

Quickly, Iwa spoke up. “Wait. I- uh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know this was a date thing. I- Matsukawa and Hanamaki-”

He didn’t get to finish before Oikawa interrupted him. “These damn idiots!” he inhaled deeply, “So how the hell did they get you to sign up? Wait, don’t tell me they did it by themselves? Did they really just steal your private info?” Oikawa sounded a little disgusted when he spoke, and for a second Iwaizumi feared it was because they’d have to spend their day together now. Then the realization struck that it was because of the data stealing and he felt relieved for a second. He didn’t even consider that Oikawa could just dip.

“Yeah. Uh, sorry. Fuck, I sort of feel bad. I know you were all serious about this. Didn’t mean to ruin it for you. Shit, I’ll actually kill these two shitheads. Selfish pricks,” the insults kept coming for a while, then he sighed. “Maybe if we ask nicely someone else will still be available? It’s unusual for everyone to show up to these kinds of things, right? Someone’s got to be alone,” he said as he looked around.

He didn’t catch Oikawa’s smile then. “No, I don’t think that’s going to work. They choose the pairings beforehand, you know, based on interests and stuff. I mean- wait! Iwa-chan, are you trying to get rid of me? You’re so mean!”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and was about to tell Oikawa to just shut up and let him handle this. He knew how important this was. Oikawa had wanted to come here and meet a nice guy. He had even gone as far as being scared of Iwaizumi’s opinion, that’s how much he cared about this.

So, he wasn’t going to give up on that just because of stupid teasing, especially not when Oikawa was so wrong. Iwaizumi would go through a lot to go on an actual, real date with his childhood friend. He would never want to get rid of Oikawa, no matter how annoying, and obnoxious he was at times.

But when he turned around and opened his mouth to finally speak, call his friend ‘trashykawa’ in the most casual way he could manage, he could have sworn his heart stopped for a second.

Oikawa was trying to hold back a laugh, eventually failing so miserably that he doubled over. Just as quick as it had come, the laugh was over, and he was standing straight again, breathing a little heavy.

“Shut up, will you, Iwa-chan? Just go on this stupid date with me already. I’m not going to let someone like Hanamaki Takahiro ruin my Valentine’s day. Besides,” he whispered the next part, “Everyone was kind of creepy, and so not my type. Plus, I was totally out of their league,” he grinned as he pulled away again.

“You’re horrible, you know that?” Iwaizumi replied dryly, but a smile lingered on his face. He was surprised by how little convincing it took for Oikawa to spend the day with him, how little whining there was so far about what Hanamaki had done.

For a moment, he thought that maybe Oikawa knew about what was going on, what their plan had been. Maybe he wanted to go on a date with him? Or maybe he wanted to prank him? Of course, the first option would be infinitely better than the latter one, but it was just about as unlikely.

“Does that mean you’re staying?” Oikawa asked, sounding genuinely curious as he spoke.

“Only ‘cause the others deserve someone less crappy as their date. Wouldn’t want to be the one responsible for their misery,” he stated plainly.

What he said though, was clearly a lie. He would be staying, but for majorly selfish reasons. If he got a chance to spend Valentine’s with his crush, he should take it, right? Even if Oikawa didn’t know about his feelings, it would be fine because nothing would happen between them anyway. They’d just enjoy each other’s company as best friends, and occasionally Iwaizumi might be able to sneak a glance more at him than he usually could.

He still felt bad about being the reason why Oikawa couldn’t meet someone new, and actually have a good date, that was more than just friendly.

At the same time, he was so glad. At least for today, he wouldn’t have to be jealous any longer. He could just enjoy their time together, even if it was a little out of his comfort zone. That relief quickly outgrew the guilt and he was ready to have a good time with his best friend, now date.

* * *

Apparently, everyone thought it was a great idea to be fucking with Iwaizumi on Valentine’s day, like it wasn’t already one of his least favorite days of the year, simply because he couldn’t stand all that lovey-dovey bullshit.

First, Hanamaki and Matsukawa had to pull this stupid prank on them – he was absolutely denying that they could have meant well, so he’d have more reason to kick their asses later, fuck the no more violence thing – and now Oikawa had to be the one to make matters infinitely worse. How? How could someone have that type of effect on him, just because they grabbed his hand?

That’s right. Oikawa was now firmly holding onto his hand, dragging him through a crowd. Iwaizumi hadn’t even had the chance to blink before Oikawa started running.

Like running through an overly crowded area wasn’t already a stupid choice, he just had to grab him as well. So now Iwa was running – more like stumbling – after him, trying to somehow keep up and not lose him in the sea of people.

The volleyball captain didn’t even seem to notice how much Iwaizumi was suffering just then. He kept running and that beautiful smile everyone gushed about had a safe spot on his lips.

Seeing him like that, looking surprisingly carefree and satisfied, the ace couldn’t even complain, though. He wished he could make sure Oikawa always felt the way he looked then, because he deserved to. He had already been through enough in these eighteen years he’d spent alive.

Fortunately, they stopped soon enough. Unfortunately, though, they stopped in front of the biggest rollercoaster there was. Fuck, Oikawa was totally doing this on purpose. It definitely had to be revenge for ruining his date.

“Now I know what you’re thinking, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said, almost like he had actually just read his mind. “Don’t worry. It’s not revenge or anything. I would have dragged whoever showed up today over here. In fact, this is kind of the reason why I signed up for a blind date here. There were other locations too, you know?”

Well, just his damn luck.

Iwaizumi had a fear of rollercoasters.

* * *

Back when he was in his last two years of middle school, he had spent his summer breaks working at a carnival.

It was only for the two weeks they stayed in town both times, but it felt like forever. He didn’t particularly enjoy it the first time. He barely got to see Oikawa for two weeks then, and had missed him like crazy – not that he’d ever admit that, not even when Oikawa was basically crying happy tears when they saw each other again.

By the second time though, he knew the people and his way around. In addition, Oikawa came to visit pretty much every single day, and asked for discounts, or to ride another rollercoaster with him.

Iwaizumi used to like them as well back then. In fact, he was sort of obsessed with them just as much as Oikawa still was. But one day, when they were riding a rollercoaster right before it was supposed to close, they got stuck.

At first it was fun, but after about five minutes on there, he started getting dizzy, until he eventually felt so sick, he passed out.

By the time he regained consciousness, they were back down, and he was lying in the back of one of the booths close by. His parents were already on their way, and for some reason Oikawa was the one crying.

Damn, he kind of cried a lot. Then again, if anything happened to Oikawa now, he’d probably cry as well. Back then he thought he was too tough for tears. Maybe, some things do change.

After that, he hadn’t managed to enjoy rollercoasters as much. He still went on them – mostly to make his best friend happy – and it didn’t exactly scare him, but he still got that feeling in his stomach sometimes.

* * *

This drop definitely didn’t make him feel any better, but when he saw the pleading shine in Oikawa’s eyes, he couldn’t help but want to go on there, sit next to him and maybe even scream with him until their souls left their bodies.

He didn’t realize that he had been staring, not until Oikawa waved his hand in front of his face. His free hand, by the way. He was still holding onto Iwaizumi’s with his other one.

Considering both of these facts, he didn’t really have any other option but to blush a deep red. Immediately, he looked down, hoping to hide it from Oikawa. If it didn’t work, Oikawa hadn’t mentioned it.

“Fine, I’ll go with you or whatever. But only this once. We’re getting food afterwards. I’m hungry anyway,” he stated as calmly as possible.

He was nervous, but he knew it was worth it when his hand was squeezed and he got a “Thank you, Iwa-chan!”. He knew Oikawa was smiling then, so he dared to sneak a look at his face. It was even more blinding than usual.

When Oikawa caught his eyes after a second, he finally let go of his hand and led them towards the rather short queue. To Iwaizumi’s surprise, a mischievous grin was now decorating his best friend’s lips. He raised his brows, but didn’t need to speak up, for Oikawa to start chuckling.

“Okay, maybe this is a little bit of revenge for crashing my date. Also…I knew I needed this to be the first thing we do, so you couldn’t use food as an excuse. I’m dragging you on another one later today as well, though, once we’ve kind of digested whatever we’re going to eat later. Don’t even dare think you can escape me,” he grinned proudly.

Iwa scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Sadist,” he said quietly. At first, he wasn’t sure if Oikawa heard him, but then he caught his reply, “Makes you a masochist, doesn’t it, Iwa-chan?” he said, smile as innocent as ever.

Fuck, yeah, he was totally whipped.

Wait, did Oikawa just flirt with him?

* * *

He wasn’t sure if he was imagining things, and the ride they got on only seconds after that little exchange, absolutely didn’t help clear his head. In fact, he was even more confused now. Everything was spinning, he felt a little sick, but also hungry, and he definitely needed to sit down. 

“See, that was fun, wasn’t it, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked with a smile that looked way too evil for the sweet sound of his voice. Iwaizumi couldn’t help but roll his eyes, not realizing, that it would make him even more dizzy than the ride itself had, until it was too late.

Luckily, Oikawa was close enough, so he prevented Iwaizumi from stumbling by letting him bump his shoulder into his own. The rollercoaster might have been better than others. It was fast, didn’t tease or let the carts stay in place for too long, which definitely decreased the anxiety he felt, but it still sucked.

He never wanted to do it again, and he was sure Oikawa could easily read his expression to figure out exactly that. Of course, he didn’t, because would it still be his Oikawa if he actually did? His. Ugh, wrong way of thinking. Again, he shook his head and only realized, that was a bad idea a little too late.

With no reply, just a quick wave towards some of the food stands close to them, the two made their way over there. By the time they got their ramen, Oikawa was still snickering for some reason, but Iwaizumi couldn’t even get himself to ask why. He was worried the guy would stop, maybe get bored.

So, he nodded towards a bench instead, “Let’s sit there,” he said, mouth full of food.

Oikawa rolled his eyes and groaned, “Gross, Iwa-chan. You shouldn’t speak until you’re done chewing. You know I hate this stuff. Maybe I should have gone with one of the creeps after all,” he sighed.

This time, it was Iwa’s turn to laugh. “Wow, so mean, Crappykawa. I knew I did these guys a favor.” He grinned, and when Oikawa playfully shoved him away, he knew he wasn’t the only one.

* * *

When they finally got to the bench and sat down, it was quiet for a while. Then, almost out of nowhere Oikawa placed the food in his lap, pulled out his phone and started fixing his hair, using it as a mirror. Iwaizumi watched at first, but then he laughed. “The hell are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m fixing my hair, of course,” Oikawa replied, and Iwaizumi couldn’t help himself. He just stared, smile wide on his lips.

“Okay, but why?” he finally asked.

“So I won’t look like shit! Iwa-chan, what do you think people fix their damn hair for?”

“And you couldn’t wait until you were done eating? Seriously? Who are you trying to impress anyway? If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m your date today, and I’ve seen you looking way worse.” He reached out, slapped the back of Oikawa’s head, and chuckled some more. He followed it up with a ruffle of his hair, messing it up even more than the ride had.

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa whined. “You’re evil! And didn’t anyone teach you any manners? You don’t punch your beautiful date, that just drives them away!”

Quite obviously, Iwaizumi was the one who started this. He referred to himself as Oikawa’s date first – technically, it was true after all – but hearing Oikawa say it was something else entirely.

It was like his heart had just skipped so many beats, it might have stopped entirely if his blood didn’t need to desperately reach his cheeks. He was blushing furiously… again. He looked down, attempting to hide it. Luckily, Oikawa continued talking before there could be something like an awkward silence.

“Anyway, I spent especially much time on looking for an outfit today,” – yep, he knew. Iwaizumi definitely felt a little proud for noticing that one – “I mean, how was I supposed to know I’d be stuck with you? And what? You’re saying I can’t look pretty for you? I’m trying hard over here, Iwa-chan! Effortlessly, I might add. I even put on my glasses. You wouldn’t even believe how hard it was to find something they looked good with. It’s all part of my Oikawa-charm!”

After hearing so many ridiculous things coming out of Oikawa’s mouth one after the other, he had managed to calm down and laugh instead. He didn’t even know where to start.

“Fuck, what was that now? Oikawa-charm? Sorry to break it to you, but your charm lost all it’s worth when I found out you still accidentally peed your bed in our first year of middle school.”

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa quickly hit him in the arm. “Don’t say stuff like that so loudly! I’ve got a reputation! What if someone heard?”

“Then they’ll know how much of a baby you are. Finally,” Iwaizumi grinned triumphantly.

When he saw Oikawa’s face twist into a rather unhappy expression though, he sighed and decided to hopefully move on to a different topic.

“Anyway, I noticed… uh, the outfit thing. I mean, looks nice and stuff. Your glasses, you should probably wear them more often too.” He stuttered probably the least smooth compliment in history, but to make it even worse he kept talking. “I mean, to see more? But they also, uh, look good on you. I’m pretty sure they’d go with any outfit. I bet most girls like them. Guys too.”

Yep, by now he was probably better off just screwing his mouth shut forever. His heart was racing, cheeks once again gaining that pinkish color, and Oikawa looked rather skeptical, which made him feel even more nervous.

“Once again, it’s proven that you know nothing about fashion, Iwa-chan! Glasses are a complex thing. They barely look any good on my face as is – they’d look horrible on anyone else – and finding a matching outfit is hard, because the styles just clash! It’s problems you’d never have!” Oikawa explained, sighing dramatically by the end.

And well, he’s right, but Iwaizumi is also kind of pissed about how he was being so harsh on himself. He was used to the way the guy criticized himself, but it usually referred to volleyball. So, right now, he hated the thought of Oikawa saying one more even slightly bad thing about himself.

“Shut it, will you? Your face looks great, with or without glasses. Now don’t be stupid and don’t make your eye sight even worse. Besides, you act like there’s some style or outfit that wouldn’t look great on you. Just listening to this is exhausting.”

He saw Oikawa’s face changing from surprised into something satisfied and happy, so he knew he had succeeded at bringing his point across. It made him smile as well. He hadn’t noticed how quiet it got between them, how the atmosphere had shifted. Not until he felt his hands getting cold, looked down and figured that his ramen must be long cold by now. When he looked back up, Oikawa had averted his gaze, but he still looked happy, and Iwaizumi could feel that familiar fluttery feeling in his chest.

* * *

After that, it had been quiet. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but Iwaizumi wasn’t really used to this either. Usually, when they had nothing to talk about Oikawa would just resort to ranting about something. More often than not, it was Kageyama, who they would apparently be facing in a match soon. Iwa had heard him go on about it so many times, he could probably effortlessly imitate one of his speeches about how he was the better setter.

To him, Oikawa’s obsession with the younger teen had never made any sense. He was quite obviously no match to him. Not only was he younger and had learned most things from the two of them anyway, but Oikawa had more willpower to become the best at what he did than anyone else he’d ever met. He knew it would get him far someday, and he was proud of him for it.

Of course, he wouldn’t usually just tell him that. He wasn’t a person that gave many compliments, especially not to someone with an ego like Oikawa’s. Someone needed to keep him humble after all.

When it came to this topic though, he didn’t hold back. He had always told him what he thought; that Oikawa was, and always would be the best setter, his best friend and his partner. It was one of the few moments in which he could just forget about his feelings for him.

Honesty cleared his mind then, and it was easy to be direct, upfront and genuine. Sometimes he wished he could be the same way when it came to confessing.

So, maybe he wasn’t ranting right now because he finally realized that he didn’t have to doubt himself. It seemed unlikely though.

“What are you so quiet for?” Iwaizumi asked, furrowing his brows as his eyes found Oikawa. Both of them were sitting next to each other with empty plastic bowls in their hands. To his surprise, Oikawa wasn’t looking at him properly. Then it occurred to him.

“Wait, shit, are you still down about being stuck with me here? Didn’t I tell you we should ask if they can find someone else for you? Why do you never listen to me?” He sighed, lips curving into a frown.

He didn’t bother hiding his expression, ready to shrug it off as being annoyed for not being listened to. The real reason was a different one. The thought of Oikawa hating being here with him upset him more than he liked to admit. Sure, he never expected an actual date, but knowing that he’d rather flirt with some stranger still stung.

Luckily, he didn’t have to think about it any longer.

Oikawa laughed so loudly, a woman walking by glanced over at them and Iwaizumi blushed for probably the hundredth time today – seriously, why did his face have to get hot so easily, and always betray him like that?

“Have you finally lost your mind, Iwa-chan? I told you I didn’t like any of the guys I saw anyway! You must be stupid, to think that I wouldn’t want to hang out with my best friend! Or wait – did the aliens get you? Are you just a double?” He laughed again, so hard he doubled over.

Iwaizumi was speechless. What was he supposed to say? He felt relieved, yes, but how had all his assumptions been so wrong and so easily rebutted in less than thirty seconds?

He was acting weird; he was sure of it. He usually could read Oikawa better. Had he just thought about it for one more second, he would have realized that most of this was nonsense. He was worried for nothing. After all, Oikawa hadn’t even complained once.

Usually he was very vocal about things he didn’t like. So yeah, maybe he didn’t hate this, and maybe Iwaizumi was feeling guilty for nothing. Just maybe, Oikawa might actually be into this too? Maybe Matsukawa and Hanamaki had a point in what they were saying all these years. Again, hope sparked in his chest. These thoughts were a reoccurring thing today. Was all of this his imagination, or did Oikawa actually give off all these mixed signals?

His head wasn’t working all of a sudden, so he did the one thing that was sort of like a defense mechanism; roll his eyes and flee. Well, he didn’t exactly run away, but he started getting up and grabbed their trash.

“Be right back,” he stated. Oikawa nodded and looked down, but as soon as Iwaizumi turned his back to him, he could feel his best friend’s eyes on him.

* * *

It took about a minute until he returned. There was a lot going on, more than he had noticed while talking to Oikawa. Luckily, no one had taken his place on the small bench though, so he sat back down almost immediately.

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa started, so Iwaizumi glanced over at him, brow raised. “It’s getting cold. The wind is going to mess up my hair /and/ I’m going to freeze to death. Don’t you think you should be doing something about that?” he whined, and in the next moment Iwaizumi’s heart had finally stopped for good.

Oikawa was moving closer, so close, in fact, that their legs were touching by their knees. Like that wasn’t enough to make his head go into overdrive, Oikawa’s hands were suddenly wrapped around his arm and he was pulling himself closer that way.

“Come on, Iwa-chan! Shouldn’t this at least look like a date anyway? We should at least pretend, right? You know, in case someone from the blind date thing sees us! I want them to think we’re having the best time of all these couples.”

As fried as Iwa’s brain was in that moment, even he realized that what Oikawa said was probably the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. The guy couldn’t be that competitive. No way he needed to show other couples how badly they were doing compared to him, especially when Iwaizumi wasn’t even his real date.

So, what was this? Was he just imagining things? Was Oikawa really that desperate? Maybe one of his ex-girlfriends was around, and he wanted to seem like he had moved on?

He sighed, dared to take a look around, but didn’t see anyone who looked familiar. When his eyes found Oikawa’s again, he started feeling warm. His face was probably still red from earlier. He was sure by now he looked worse than all the Valentine’s decorations around them.

He pulled away when he realized that, and it seemed like Oikawa’s eyes widened at his movement. Maybe he was just imagining it again though, because when he took off his jean jacket and put it around his best friend’s shoulders, the guy just looked a little confused, and absolutely speechless. Had he gone too far?

“Idiot. You never listen to me. Always have to try and look fashionable instead of dressing weather appropriately. Take this and shut up.” He was about to sit back down like he had before, when he saw Oikawa’s face soften. He looked genuinely happy, and apparently, that gave him a confidence boost, because suddenly, he found himself wrapping an arm around Oikawa’s shoulders and pulling him in closer.

Without protest, Oikawa rested his head on Iwaizumi’s shoulder. For no particular reason, and kind of out of nowhere, he felt like he shouldn’t be doing this. He enjoyed it, yes, but was this maybe wrong? Was he using Oikawa’s obliviousness to his feelings to get closer to him?

He wasn’t sure if it could be seen that way. He considered pulling away, but the moment felt so good. Both of them felt calm, like they could just relax into each other. It was kind of perfect. The guilt was eased quickly then, especially when he remembered Oikawa had just asked him to make this look like a date anyway. Oikawa kept dropping hints like this, right? It was fine. This was fine. Everything would go well.

“Who knew you could be so caring, Iwa-chan? So, this is what I’ve been missing out on all this time, huh?” Oikawa chuckled.

“Shut it, or I’m taking it all back. You suck,” he replied through gritted teeth. He was tense now, realizing that both of them were actually aware of what was happening. It scared him a little, but it also made him feel more alive than any service ace ever could. He was holding Oikawa in his arms and he seemed to not hate it. He might even be enjoying it.

Or not. This wasn’t real, he had to remind himself. “Besides, you basically just ordered me to play along, remember? I’m just making up for fucking up your real date,” he said defensively.

He wasn’t looking, so he didn’t notice if Oikawa’s face fell a bit. He did notice his own expression twisting into a rather unhappy one, though, not even aware that it could be interpreted in a way that absolutely wasn’t true, in a way that would make Oikawa think it was because of him.

“Which ride are you torturing me with next then?” He eventually stuttered, just wanting to get rid of this awful feeling in his gut, this horrible tension between them. They were still in each other’s arms, but it was becoming less enjoyable by the second.

This time, he caught Oikawa’s smile when he leaned back a bit. “I’m already making you do enough shitty things today, right? So, I’ll continue the rollercoaster torture later. We should do something else first,” Oikawa sighed.

It sounded genuinely nice, or maybe like he actually felt bad about doing this. Iwaizumi wasn’t sure, but he knew that he wouldn’t say no to that. “Okay. Let’s play ring toss then. Check out the other booths too,” he replied, and he felt Oikawa nod.

Even when it was decided though, none of them moved. Instead, Iwaizumi felt Oikawa shiver, which resulted in him pulling him closer. “Still cold?” he asked, almost whispering the question.

“No,” Oikawa replied, and Iwaizumi wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. “This is nice though,” the brunette then added, and once again confusion washed over the ace.

Could he really be getting all the wrong signs, or was Oikawa trying to hit on him?


	3. Drop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The date is going well. Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloo! It took a while to write this one but life's getting busy so pls forgive me.  
> Also, I once again had no one to beta read this, so feel free to point out any mistakes/typos. There's probably quite a few silly ones, so it'd suck if it worsened the reading experience.
> 
> Anyway, uh, slight trigger warning for the ending of this chapter! There's a bit of hurt/comfort going on if you can call it that? So yeah, TW for Anxiety and panic attacks! It's only the last two parts (mostly the second last one), so if you don't wanna read that stop at "He handed the plushie over, and then the nightmare began." The rest of the chapter is mostly fluff ngl!  
> I'll leave a summary for what happened in the end notes!  
> Have a great day and enjoy!

Getting up after all that felt like the hardest thing Iwaizumi had ever done. He did it anyway, because both him and Oikawa had to do things they didn’t like sometimes, push themselves to new lengths no matter how hard it was. That’s what competitive sports were all about, right? Certain traits were needed for it; determination, always wanting to do your best, being hard-working, a certain amount of stubbornness. And maybe that mind set and comparison weren't good ones, because maybe all that was the problem here.

If only Oikawa could explain what was going on inside his head, say it out loud, so that Iwaizumi knew if his feelings were being reciprocated, or if he was entirely imagining all of this. He’d accept Oikawa’s answer, no matter what it was, and be respectful about how they moved on from this without having to make a fool of himself. He wouldn’t have to still be thinking about all of this when they finally reached the booth that offered a game of ring toss. He wouldn’t be spaced out when Oikawa asked him who would start, and he absolutely wouldn’t be losing it at how close his best friend suddenly was, when he snapped out of it.

Okay, that last part was a lie. It would take him a while to get over Oikawa – if he could at all. If not, it would still take a while to not react in this type of way. It was a shame, honestly. Knowing this could change their friendship in a negative way was definitely scary. It made him wish he didn’t feel like this sometimes. That his stupid feelings had stayed friendly forever.

But then, his chest sparks again. As much as he tries to be realistic, as lost as he is in confusion, there’s always some bit of hope left in him. And well, any other day he’d think it’s idiotic. Today though? Now? He was on a date – it might be fake, but still – with his best friend, his crush.

So today, his wish wasn’t to not have these feelings. It was to find out what the hell is going on with Oikawa, what he’s thinking. If only he could read his mind.

Oikawa was probably wishing the same thing by now, because when their eyes met and he took a step back, his expression was a concerned one. “You good, Iwa-chan? You keep spacing out. Did just that one ride give you brain damage already? And here I was thinking you were tough,” he teased, grinning by the end. It didn’t look as evil as it usually would though, so it wasn’t hard to notice that this wasn’t a mean natured comment. In fact, he meant well, giving him somewhat of an excuse to just curse him out and move on, instead of having to explain what he was actually thinking about.

And so, he did. Not without noting how much he liked this about Oikawa though. The guy could be a pushover, but somehow, he always knew when to actually stop.

“Shut it, trashykawa,” he sighed, “Let’s play this stupid game. Once I win, you’ll see who’s got the brain damage,” he said, smiling a bit as he finally checked out what he’d be working with.

The booth was fairly big, but only ever offered for two people to throw at the same time. There was a kid standing not too far from them, meaning they’d have to wait for their turn. Not like Iwaizumi really minded. He was confident he’d win, and he wanted to watch Oikawa’s technique. Well, that’s what he told himself at least. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Oikawa was still wearing his jean jacket and looked absolutely adorable in it.

It was pretty much the right size for him, as Iwa was only a little shorter, but the blue of it made Oikawa’s skin shine in a way it never could for Iwaizumi’s more tanned complexion. It was kind of amazing, but mostly funny, how long it took for Iwaizumi to realize how deeply attracted he was to Oikawa. He had always liked brunettes, yes, but it took him forever to figure out why he did, who they reminded him of, and who he always ended up comparing them to in his head.

Now that he knew though, and occasionally paid a little more attention to his best friend, he found himself startled by how good looking he was. He kind of had a reputation for that, of course, so it shouldn’t be surprising. But it still caught him off guard when he saw Oikawa’s pink lips curve upward in order to smile back at him. When the sun hit his brown eyes, stressing how beautifully cool the color was. When he blushed and his cheeks turned a bright red, or when his hair fell in his face the way it does now.

Fuck. What was he even thinking? Even if Oikawa did like him back – which, there was still no guarantee – this would be creepy. Daydreaming about your crush while he was standing right next to you just wasn’t a good idea, especially not when it was so oddly specific.

Because of all this, he entirely missed the part where Oikawa paid, got ready, and threw the first ring. He only snapped out of it when Oikawa let out an excited “Ha!”, apparently proud of himself for landing the first one. His smile was big – blindingly big – and he was waiting for some kind of reaction from Iwaizumi.

Of course, he provided, shrugging a bit. “Not as horrible as I expected,” he stated, grinning a bit. Without complaints, Oikawa took the praise, smiling right back at him before turning back around.

Three tosses later and Oikawa was on his last one. He had already missed two, meaning he wouldn’t be getting a price, but apparently his pride didn’t let him stop before he had given his all. Iwaizumi knew better than to try and stop him. Besides, they paid for these tries.

Frustration was written all over his face when he finally took a step back, done with the game for now. Iwaizumi approached slowly, bringing a hand up to Oikawa’s shoulder when he passed him. He squeezed it gently, then playfully shoved him away.

“I’ll win you something, don’t worry,” he said, and he immediately knew it would earn him a glare. He didn’t expect to be hit in the arm as well though. A chuckle escaped him. Oikawa had always been a miserable loser, and it was kind of comforting to see that nothing had changed in that regard.

Seeing him laugh like that apparently made it hard for Oikawa not to as well. When Iwaizumi turned back once more to take a look at him, he saw his best friend watching him, looking mostly curious. It was a relief to actually see him smile as he impatiently motioned for him to start the game.

And then he did. It was over almost as quickly as it had started. He made short work of it, throwing the rings almost immediately after picking them up and choosing a place to land them in. There was quite a bit of luck in it of course, but apart from that, his time working at a carnival was beneficial.

Oikawa had never wanted to hear it, too impatient to listen to him when it was about anything other than volleyball or girls back then, but Iwaizumi had spent his summers there trying to figure out how rigged the games really were. Any time there was no customers around, he’d ask his supervisors or just try finding out by playing. And well, it worked. Just because he knew though, didn’t mean he’d win.

The fact that he scored all five of his tosses was mostly based on the amount of time and money he already wasted on these booths throughout his lifetime. Ever since he developed his fear of rollercoasters, he found himself playing games instead of going on rides even more often.

“What! Are you serious Iwa-chan? I never knew you’d actually be good at this. It looked so effortless too. Curse you,” Oikawa groaned as he approached, and Iwaizumi couldn’t help his grin.

“So, what’re ya’ choosin’, kid?” the booth owner asked, making him shrug.

It took Iwaizumi another couple seconds to figure something out. Of course, it was taking too long for Oikawa’s taste, so the guy decided to wait close by and try to find another game they could play.

Staring at the mediocre selection of very small prizes – the biggest one was a plushie of maybe three inches – he hesitated. He knew he wanted to choose something for Oikawa. It was cheesy, but it was his intention all along and he wouldn’t back out now. Most of the things were useless toys or ugly plushies though. He sighed and reached out to grab one of the horrible, almost terrifying stuffed animals. That’s when he noticed a keychain though, immediately grabbing it and smiling.

He took a step back, held it up and nodded, “Thanks, have a good day,” he said loudly, but he didn’t get a reply.

It didn’t matter anyway, because right now he couldn’t help but feel a little excited about handing Oikawa the prize he had won for him. He was sure it would get a positive reaction out of him.

Even though Oikawa didn’t like gifts that much – he preferred working for things himself and got too many too often by all the girls who confess to him – he usually enjoyed whenever Iwaizumi showed him that he cared about him.

Bigger gestures like this were appreciated, just like the smaller ones. It was one of the best parts about their friendship; Oikawa always knew when Iwaizumi did something because he cared. He could read him like a book most of the times, and he could be a bit annoying about it, but usually he knew when to stop. It was a little scary to think about at times, but it made what they had special.

“Oikawa.” He smiled when he found him.

Oikawa’s eyes narrowed, like he was trying to figure out what was wrong. He was smiling a little though, so he didn’t look as upset anymore. “What? Why’re you looking so happy all of the sudden?”

“I just enjoyed the time without you so much,” Iwaizumi replied drily, still hiding the gift in his pocket. “Come on, close your eyes. I got something for you,” he then added.

“Iwa-chan, I swear, if you’re putting trash in my hands or pulling some other stupid prank-“

“Jeez, stop being so paranoid! When have I ever wronged you? Now close your damn eyes before I punch them shut,” he ordered with a huff of a laugh.

Oikawa sighed but complied.

Iwaizumi pulled out the keychain, grabbed Oikawa’s hand and placed it in there. “Okay, you can look.”

Oikawa did as he was told once more, and small alien keychain was revealed to him. It was a little UFO right next to a lanky, green extraterrestrial creature. Immediately, his face lit up even more. His expression was unsurprisingly handsome, but Iwaizumi barely got a look at it before he was pulled into a hug. It was a surprisingly tight one as well, like Oikawa was looking for comfort.

Of course, Iwaizumi tried his best to provide exactly that. He figured Oikawa was still upset about not winning, so he didn’t tease or ask about it.

“Thank you, Iwa-chan! I knew you loved me,” he grinned proudly, and Iwaizumi felt is cheeks heat up, probably turning a dark shade of red. If only Oikawa knew how true that statement was.

Instead of replying though, the ace just nodded. “Let’s go play whatever stupid game you decided on.”

* * *

A short walk later and everything was normal again. Iwaizumi’s face was no longer flushed and Oikawa was going on about volleyball – more specifically, about how annoyed he was by Ushijima and Shiratorizawa, and how they definitely wouldn’t lose against them this year.

Iwaizumi just kept nodding along, already knowing pretty much everything Oikawa would say. He’s heard it about a million times by now. Luckily, the setter stopped talking when they reached a bigger booth that offered throwing basketballs. Scoring eight out of ten times would win you a prize. It seemed doable, so both of them paid the fees and then got ready. This time, they were playing at the same time.

“Whoever is faster is the real winner, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa shouted, not even thinking that loosing was a possibility for either of them. It was good, seeing that the team captain seemed to be back to being as confident as ever. As he said this, Iwaizumi paid for both their turns.

Once he was done, Iwaizumi just huffed a small ‘alright’. Oikawa counted down and they started.

This time, he was too focused on scoring to even pay the slightest bit of attention to Oikawa, but the way he was already standing there when he finally turned to face him again, entirely out of breath but proudly smiling, told him the brunette had won. In all honesty, he felt relieved.

“Guess I won, huh?” the guy said proudly, and Iwa chuckled a little and nodded. “Would’ve been embarrassing if you didn’t, don’t you think?” he asked, only earning a roll of his eyes from his best friend, which in turn made him smile a little bigger.

In all honesty, Iwaizumi felt proud then. He hadn’t really expected any less from Oikawa. Even though he wasn’t sure which one of them would be faster, he was sure that Oikawa would score all of them, or at least come really close. He turned out to be right, which pushed his ego for two reasons. First, because Oikawa was his best friend, and he was awesome. Second, because he trusted the team captain enough to know he could do it. It made him feel amazing about both of them.

Luckily, Oikawa only spoke up after another couple moments. Apparently, it took him a while to think of a comeback, but Iwaizumi decided not to mention it, just like Oikawa didn’t ask him about the way he lost their little game just now, or why he kept spacing out.

“Shut up, will you? You should be praising me, especially because I already know what prize I’m choosing as well,” Oikawa explained, chest puffed as he approached the booth owner.

He said something quietly and the man nodded, walking off to grab whatever it was he wanted. He looked excited then, lips curved upward and eyes searching for something. His posture looked a little strange though, like he was tense because of more than just the way he was trying to stand straight.

As soon as their eyes met though, Oikawa motioned for him to turn around and it was forgotten. Hesitantly, Iwaizumi complied. He wasn’t sure what his friend was up to, and he was a little scared. Still, he didn’t want to be distrusting.

When he felt a tap on his shoulder, he spun around and was greeted with a fairly big Godzilla plushie. It was about the size of his torso, and well, it looked cute as hell. Immediately, he reached out before he could stop himself. It was soft and fluffy, and even bigger than it had seemed at first glance. Oikawa easily let go, and then Iwaizumi was holding onto it. Only then, he realized it was his. Oikawa had gotten it for him.

It’s fair to say that his heart immediately picked up pace at that realization, so he really had to get himself together. He was a damn teenager, a young adult even. He shouldn’t be this excited about a plushie. Yet, here he was, happier than after one of their won volleyball games. He really, really didn’t want to let it show though, so he pressed his lips together in an attempt to create a straight line. He succeeded but his blush gave him away anyway.

Oikawa was smirking, looking even more pleased with himself now. He clearly knew that Iwaizumi liked it, and he didn’t even try to hide it. Iwa was sure that nothing he said would make him believe otherwise, but he tried his best to play it off anyway.

“Dammit, Oikawa. Am I a six-year-old? What am I going to do with this?” he asked holding it away from his chest. The smile on the other guy’s face only grew bigger though.

“You act like you don’t know! It’s obvious though. You’re supposed to hug it every night before bed and think of me, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa laughed.

He just might, but Oikawa doesn’t need to know that, so Iwaizumi had to roll his eyes. For now, he needed to figure out what to do with this thing. He couldn’t just keep it in his bed, right?

When he still felt eyes on him after a while, Iwaizumi dared taking another look at his best friend, who turned out to still be staring at him for some reason. “What?” he asked, and Oikawa pulled something else out of his pocket.

“Uh,” the brunette started, before Iwaizumi could recognize what it was, “I actually had this with me to give to my date if I ended up liking him. I don’t really know what to do with it other than giving it to you, so while you’re at it. Take it,” he explained, his expression turning into a more genuine one.

Iwaizumi held out his hand and found a small bracelet in it. It looked like one of those self-made ones, and he couldn’t help but frown. His first though was that some other guy could have been walking around with something Oikawa had made for them, which was anything but nice.  
But then, a second thought entered his mind. This seemed like a stupid excuse. Oikawa could just give it to the next guy he’d be going on a date with, right? Unless maybe, just maybe, he wanted Iwa to have it? Was this wishful thinking?

“Well, you don’t have to wear it if you don’t like it,” Oikawa added after another moment, which was when Iwaizumi had realized he hadn’t replied yet.

His eyes went wide for a second. Did Oikawa really think he didn’t like it? Dammit.

“Idiot,” he mumbled, not even thinking before he pulled his best friend into a hug. “Fuck, that’s some sappy first date shit, huh? Didn’t know you were into all that cheesiness,” he mumbled, letting out a quiet chuckle as well.

And then it happened. To his surprise, Oikawa’s arms wrapped around him even more tightly than he was holding him. He rested his head on Iwa’s shoulder and chuckled as well. “I guess I’m a sappy guy when I really want to impress my date. I wouldn’t have given it to just anyone either,” Oikawa whispered.

Did he just hear that right?  
Like his heart wasn’t already running at an unhealthy speed, Oikawa had to say stuff like that. Things like that made it easy to forget that he wasn’t on an actual date, that there was a big chance Oikawa saw him as nothing more than a friend, and the possibility of a decade-long friendship being destroyed.  
Could anyone blame him for the way his mind drifted again after hearing that? For the flutter in his chest, his sweaty palms and the bright red color his face turned? Was it really wrong to get his hopes up at least a little after this? He had to be right about it being specifically for him, right? He couldn’t be imagining all of this.

“You can be pretty cute sometimes, you know? Did my mega awesome gift make you blush, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa then added in a teasing tone, and that was when he knew he had to pull away. For some reason, Oikawa kept holding on for another moment though, which brought them into somewhat of an awkward position.

Their faces were really close, and they were breathing the same air. Of course, his heart started beating more violently against his chest, because the only thing he could look at were Oikawa’s stupid lips. Fuck.

His reflexes saved him though. Before he knew it, his hand was in Oikawa’s face, shoving him out of the way. “Idiot. Next time you gift me something I’m throwing it away,” he grumbled, and Oikawa pouted.

“Mean, Iwa-chan!” he said in the typically whiney voice he put on for it, which ended up making both of them grin at each other.

* * *

Despite his best efforts, Iwaizumi couldn’t convince Oikawa to just spend the rest of their date eating junk food and winning prizes for each other, so he found himself in line for one roller coaster after the other.

Until now, he had been saved from further suffering by lines that were too long for Oikawa to wait in, or parts of the park that were closing down already – he hadn’t even realized how late it was until then. Apparently, they had spent quite some time sitting around and playing games, which he definitely wouldn’t complain about.

Still, by now he didn’t really have much of a choice other than to begrudgingly saying yes to wherever his best friend wanted to go, unless he wanted to risk the mood dropping rapidly and getting horrible tosses for the next two weeks.

Okay, actually, Oikawa usually wasn’t that bad to him, but the threat of it was enough to make him stop complaining, and Oikawa somehow knew that, because the ride they were waiting in line for right now was probably the worst one in the whole place.

It was gigantic, included a loop and was fast for only a minority of the time, so it would probably drag on forever. Just thinking about that and remembering that one time they had been stuck on one scared him, so he tried not to. He was glad that it didn’t just stop for a minute or so before the drop as well, like some other rides do. That would have finished him off for sure.

For now, he was trying his best to keep his cool. Luckily, he was already quite skilled in maintaining a stoic façade, so a neutral expression came quite easy to him, and Oikawa most likely wouldn’t question it. Well, not like he would ever have to actually hide how he felt about this type of ride, but in this case, he wanted to. He was fairly certain that Oikawa had forced him here purposefully, as some type of revenge, or simply because of the other roller coasters they didn’t get to ride.

“Hey, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said, interrupting his train of thought. Iwaizumi glanced over at him, raising his brows.  
“What are you going to be doing with that during the ride? You can’t just leave it here, you realize that, right?” he asked, pointing at the plushie in Iwa’s arms.

Only then, he realized the guy was right. He couldn’t take that thing on the ride with him. It was too big. He absolutely wouldn’t be leaving it somewhere and hoping it was still there when he returned either and– that’s when he realized, he didn’t know where the bracelet was, that Oikawa had made for him.

A cold shower ran down his spine at the thought of having lost it. No way.  
He quickly checked his pockets, sighing in relief when he found it. He pulled it out, held it out for Oikawa and then freed his wrist. “Put it on before I lose it,” he demanded, and Oikawa obliged with no questions or remarks.

After another moment, he opened his mouth again though, so Iwaizumi quickly shushed him. Oikawa looked more than confused, but Iwaizumi didn’t bother explaining. Instead, he let whatever demon had to be possessing him then and there take over.

“Sorry,” he said to a group of people standing right behind them in line, while grabbing Oikawa’s hand. Somehow, he managed to give a somewhat friendly, but mostly crooked smile to the strangers.

They raised their brows, but the demon just kept speaking while Oikawa was giving him that ‘What’s gotten into you?’-face. Quite honestly, he didn’t know, but it seemed to be quite useful right now. “Uh, I noticed one of you isn’t waiting in line, right? If you’re just going to be waiting, could you by any chance watch this for us?” he asked, moving the Godzilla plushie a little.

“Uh, my boyfriend won it for me earlier and I really don’t want to lose it, you know? I know it’s-”

The guy standing out of bounds nodded and stopped him from embarrassing himself further. “Sure, I’ll watch it for you. Just come pick it up right after or I’ll throw it away,” he said sternly, leaving Iwaizumi exhaling in relief and nodding as well.

When he turned back, the group started talking about something else again, which he was glad about. He was entirely flushed by now, and he could feel Oikawa’s stunned eyes on him. He wasn’t sure which one of them was more surprised, or about which of the many weird things he just did specifically.

“Boyfriend?” he heard Oikawa mumble, like he couldn’t believe he actually just heard that. Iwaizumi nudged him in the side and the guy yelped. “Mean! You’re supposed to be nice to your boyfriend, you know? And I wondered why you never dated before… now I know! No one would want to date you when you’re this violent.”

Quite honestly, the comment hurt a little, especially considering that Oikawa was the actual reason why he never gave anyone else a chance. He didn’t mention it though. Instead, he rolled his eyes and hoped to move on from this.

He still couldn’t believe that had actually been him. Why wouldn’t he just let Oikawa handle it? Where did the boyfriend idea even come from? He could have easily just said best friend and it would have probably been just as convincing, right?

Well, luckily, Oikawa didn’t seem to mind all that much. Actually, did he mind at all? He hadn’t complained about being referred to as that. Obviously, that didn’t mean anything, but with how the rest of the night was going, could he be blamed for having more hope than ever?

He didn’t get to think about it much longer, because soon enough it was their turn. He handed the plushie over, and then the nightmare began.

* * *

“Iwa-chan, come on, are you okay?”

He heard Oikawa’s voice close to him, felt his arm around him, but somehow it still seemed like he was miles away. “Hm?” he managed, but he was immediately shushed.

He felt sick, dizzy, and could have sworn he was supposed to be sitting on a roller coaster right now instead of… on a bench?

As he slowly opened his eyes again and they readjusted to the light, he saw Oikawa kneeling in front of him, looking worried. He wasn’t sure why at first, but then it came back to him.

It was memories in broken pieces. Dialog sketchy and incomplete, it was mostly images that he remembered, so it took him another moment to actually realize what this was about and why it happened.

The roller coaster. They were supposed to ride it, but as soon as they sat inside, something happened. Why? He had been fine the first time. Maybe it was the loop? The speed? He wasn’t sure, but he knew he started panicking.

His heart rate increased, and he suddenly couldn’t hear anything more than blood rushing through his body. His ears were ringing and he wanted to get up and run. He was shaking. Then Oikawa’s worried eyes met his, and he knew he must have been looking miserable, considering the way that Oikawa’s face twisted.

After that, it was tough. Breathing felt like the most unnatural thing, and his mind wouldn’t stop spinning. What if they got stuck on that stupid roller coaster? What if Oikawa went on the ride without him and something happened? What if–

There were so many scenarios going on inside his head. So many things that could happen, could be happening? He wasn’t sure. His brain had just pressed auto play and it was impossible to stop now. He felt sick, he couldn’t breathe. Was there blood somewhere? He felt something wet on his face, his hands. Were they dying? What was happening? Oikawa was still there. Yeah. Okay.

* * *

By the time he realized he was safe now, plushie in his arms and Oikawa right next to him, he felt embarrassed and ashamed. There was one good thing about this though. Oikawa had an arm wrapped around him, was holding onto his hand, and resting his head on Iwaizumi’s shoulder.

He hadn’t said anything in a while, which Iwa was thankful for. He wasn’t sure he could have gotten any words out after a moment of panic like that, but looking at Oikawa’s red, puffy eyes, he figured he felt the same way.

Apparently, both of them had started crying at some point, which was why they had been allowed to leave the ride after it had started already in the first place. According to Oikawa, the woman who worked there was still pissed, but it’s not like Iwa really cared or remembered.

All he knew right now, was that his unnecessary crying and anxiety in that moment had ruined the night for Oikawa. It had ruined the whole day probably. His thoughts kept coming back to one thing; How could he not even manage to have fun on a roller coaster? Instead, he had to ruin the experience for his best friend as well. He made him cry, goddammit.

He wanted to apologize then, but the moment didn’t feel right. Well, not until he heard Oikawa’s miserable voice.

“Sorry, Iwa-chan,” he whispered, sounding more defeated than he’d ever heard him. “I wish I had known it was that bad. You idiot, you have to know when to stop. Say no next time. You don’t usually struggle with that.”

What a dumbass. That’s all Iwa’s mind could produce. So, he replied with only a quiet “Sorry.”

Oikawa’s scoff told him he wasn’t happy with that though.

He leaned back a little, so he could look at his best friend. By now he had definitely calmed down, but it was still a strange thing to go through, something he never expected from himself.

His plushie still in his tight grip, he managed to lock eyes with Oikawa. “Sorry for ruining your ride. I didn’t think it’d be that bad. Honestly, I didn’t even worry until we were locked in and I heard these other people talk…”

He stopped himself from rambling even more by taking a deep breath. Then, he shook his head and tried again. “Sorry for sort of ruining your date. Hell, I really wanted to make it a good one and get to ask you out properly then,” he explained with a frown. He was so desperately trying to make up for the way he thought he fucked this up, he didn’t even comprehend what he was saying.

Neither did Oikawa it seemed, because all he did was smile softly and shake his head.

“Iwa-chan, you’re stupid you know that?” he said, but his expression didn’t change. He looked oddly fond of the ace, which made him feel kind of warm.

“You didn’t ruin anything. You were the best date I could’ve asked for. If I could, I would have to thank Makki and Mattsun right now. You don’t have to apologize for this. It’s not your fault. It’s mine for even dragging you on there.” Oikawa pulled him into another hug, and Iwa couldn’t do anything other than nod.

“You feeling better now though, right?” the setter asked again, and Iwaizumi mumbled a quiet “Mhm,” before nodding to reassure him.

And he meant it. What happened was scary. He didn’t know if he could get over it just like that. Probably not. He might have to talk to someone about this. But right now? It was okay. He wasn’t alone, which made this infinitely more bearable.

The moment was bad, of course, but it still felt good. It felt good to be in Oikawa’s arms, and it felt nice to know that he wasn’t being blamed or made fun of for what happened. He wouldn’t expect any different from Oikawa, because as annoying as he could be, he was good. He was so, so good, and Iwaizumi was head over heels for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, if you've made it this far! Now for those who didn't read the last two parts;  
> Basically, Iwaizumi panicked after settling down. Sudden fear overcame him and he had trouble breathing, started crying etc. They didn't go on the ride of course and instead Oikawa spent the time trying to help Iwa calm down and telling him that it's not his fault. He apologized as well and Iwaizumi sort of confessed he wants to date Oikawa. They brush over it though without really thinking about it, because the whole situation is too upsetting to even think about that! It'll be relevant in the last chapter though, so that's that!


	4. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They talk. Finally. Matsukawa and Hanamaki find out what their 'help' led to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Last chapter. I didn't have anyone to proof read for me.. again. So yeah, feel free to point out any mistakes! Also, apologies for taking so long to finish this! Other than that, enjoy!

It took about half an hour and approximately 36 times of Oikawa asking if he was okay, for the two of them to finally leave the amusement park.

Iwaizumi was getting better by then. His lungs didn’t feel like they were on fire any longer. His heart wasn’t racing any harder than it usually was when he was around Oikawa. His legs weren’t shaking, like he just ran a marathon, and his tense shoulders finally managed to relax under his best friend’s soft grip.

When they had started walking, it was without thinking, that they grabbed each other’s hands. He might have told himself it was only so he could hold on to someone if it was any other day. He might get dizzy again after all, or end up losing his balance. He’d tell himself that he just needed that kind of touch to know he was still alive and well. Not today though. After everything that had happened, he felt like even something like holding onto someone you’ve been this close with for most of your life, could mean something more than just friendship. More than just support when it was needed. He didn’t mention it or complain of course. Instead, he enjoyed the idea.

Talking about it, any of it, felt like it was a risk. He might make the other feel uncomfortable, make it stop. So, when he spoke up again, he didn’t look down at their hands, and overall tried avoiding eye contact as he told Oikawa that he didn’t want to go home yet.

It was already dark outside, and fairly late as well. The streets were empty and peaceful, in a way. There were barely any cars passing by, and no other people around either. Some windows were still lit, but it wasn’t blinding. The street lights were rather dim, contributing to the comfortable feeling between the two. Comfortable as long as they didn’t acknowledge what was actually going on, Iwaizumi thought.

“You know, Iwa-cha, I still think we should go home,” Oikawa sighed after a while. He was also looking straight ahead. His usual, preppy persona was nowhere to be found then. Quite the opposite. It was replaced by a surprisingly big amount of worry lacing his voice and facial expression. He tried to hide it, but it was pointless when it was Iwaizumi next to him.

Seeing this, recognizing it– It almost made Iwa’s heart hurt a little. Of course, he appreciated any type of concern, but hearing some stupid joke about whatever else Oikawa could have been thinking about then, probably would have been the distraction he needed.

“Yeah, but I told you I wanted to take you somewhere, didn’t I? And I’m fine now, you know? It’s not that big of a deal,” Iwaizumi explained, obviously trying to play it off.

It was clearly a lie. He was sure both of them knew it. It was a big deal, but he didn’t want to think about it anymore. He didn’t want to see Oikawa making that face, and he most definitely didn’t want his parents to find out.

He felt that even though they had already talked a bit after it happened, and just before they got up to leave, there was more that had to be said. His own guilt was mostly gone, but something else was in the air. Something that made it hard to breathe at times. He knew he was right when he heard Oikawa’s voice again.

“Are you kidding me right now, Iwa-chan? You almost fainted! You couldn’t speak, or breathe, or think!” his best friends snapped. There was desperation in his voice, face, posture. Everywhere. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

“I know! I was there,” Iwaizumi replied with a sigh, but only when he looked back at Oikawa, did he realize how truly upset the guy was.

Instinctively, he let go of his hand and grabbed him by his shoulders instead. His eyes roamed Oikawa’s face, searching for something, anything, that would tell him why his best friend was this feeling like this.  
Slowly, almost subconsciously, his hands moved to cup Oikawa’s face, and he saw him close his eyes at the touch. The next time they opened, tears were freely rolling down his cheeks.

“Hey, shh,” Iwa tried in his comforting voice, as he slowly pulled the guy closer. “What’s wrong? Don’t cry, idiot, tell me what’s wrong.” By then, they were hugging.  
Oikawa was resting his head against Iwa’s shoulder, and it was one of the many moments in which Iwaizumi wished he was taller, so he could offer better physical comfort.

Small sobs escaped the brunette, and his breathing was getting heavier. It made Iwaizumi pull back again, so that Oikawa couldn’t hide his face, and would try speaking up.

Apparently, it seemed to work, because soon enough Oikawa was trying to say something. It was hard to tell through all the crying though, so Iwaizumi just did the best he could; softly brushing away any tears, and telling him It was okay.

“It’s all my fault,” he eventually caught Oikawa saying. Immediately, he shook his head, but Oikawa didn’t seem to be stopping. It was like the dam had broken, and there was no way of stopping the flow of words escaping his lips now, not by himself at least.

“I know you’re really scared of rides, and I still dragged you on there. And- And it’s my fault that Makki and Mattsun made you come here in the first place, and I… I couldn’t even help you when you clearly weren’t okay. I really, really didn’t know what to do. I’m so sorry, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa sobbed, “It’s all my fault. I’m sorry,” he repeated.

Iwaizumi caught himself lost for words. It wasn’t anything unusual, but it was worse now than ever. He needed to tell his best friend that this wasn’t his fault, that he actually was so deeply in love with him, he’d forgive him even if it was. But no, his mind was blank, and all he could do was lean in.

Oikawa visibly tensed at the motion, but as soon as their foreheads touched and they were leaning against each other, he relaxed again.

It took a moment, but it was like putting their heads together actually gave him the ability to find words, form sentences. It was like Oikawa was lending him that power, and the thought made him smile.

“God, Oikawa, you’re such a fucking idiot. It’s not your fault. You can’t predict that kind of thing, okay? I was fine on the first one, and I didn’t even notice how bad it was until we were already sitting down. Besides, it was my own choice to come, stay, and even go on rides. I mean, yeah, I did it for your sake mostly, but that doesn’t mean you’re at fault! We’re adults, it’s my own responsibility,” he explained with a frown.

He slowly moved his face away, then eventually his hands dropped, and he leaned down to pick up his plushie, which had fallen down in the heat of the moment.

“It’s not like you ran away while it was happening either. Actually…” he frowned again at the thought of admitting how much Oikawa’s presence alone had helped him, but he figured now wasn’t the time to play tough.

“Feeling your arms around me and all that… it was already… really reassuring. It definitely helped. And the way you kept talking to me as well. So, like, don’t shut up, I guess.” He felt himself blush, so he looked down and sighed. Getting the words out was somehow easier than he had expected, but having to deal with the consequences of what he said was a different thing.

Just then, he heard something like a chuckle from his best friend.

Oikawa was smiling when they looked at each other again, even though the tears weren’t gone yet. He nodded some though, like he was trying to believe what Iwaizumi told him.

“You’re such a drama queen, you know that, right?”

“Iwa-chan! I’m crying for your sake and you still dare being mean,” Oikawa huffed, his voice sounding clearer now. He didn’t seem to be shaking anymore either, and the crying had basically stopped as well.  
“You’re lucky that I know that you never mean any of that!”

“Don’t I?”

“You don’t,” Oikawa confirmed confidently.

“Well, if you read me that easily, you can probably tell what I’m thinking right now as well,” he stated with curious brows.

At first, this banter was just supposed to serve as a distraction. Help both of them get over this. But then, for a moment, he actually considered just saying it. It felt like a good time. They were both being vulnerable already. It could go well, considering they were being playful but honest. It could be brushed off as a heat of the moment thing if it went wrong.

No. It shouldn’t be that easy.  
He was scared of confessing; how could he not be? But still, he didn’t want to do it when there was such a big chance Oikawa could think he was just joking, trying to lighten the mood with something random, and silly.

It was neither, for him. Not random, nor stupid. In fact, the amount of love and admiration he had for the team captain had steadily increased over the past few years. Back when they were kids, and Iwaizumi basically hated the guy, to now, being madly in love with him. It wasn’t just liking anymore either. It was having fallen from the sky, right into a deep, blue sea once, and now willingly doing it all over again every single day.

So that’s why the prospect of even the slightest chance of this going somewhere was more motivating than the fear of rejection at this point. Still, he wanted to increase the chance of a serious conversation, an honest confession. It wasn’t something to play cool, or make fun of.

“Yeah,” Oikawa’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, “you’re probably thinking about how awesome I am, huh? Just like any other time your brain is working, really.” The roast seemingly came as easy as ever, and so did the teasing. It made Iwaizumi’s smile grow, but he shook his head. “Idiot.”

Naturally, their hands found each other again once they started walking. This time, Iwaizumi was sure it meant more than just friendship.

* * *

It didn’t take long for them to Iwaizumi’s intended destination. Their little conversation had apparently helped quite a bit. Both of them were more relaxed now; Oikawa because he felt less guilty, and Iwaizumi because he had calmed down, and found something else to focus on.

Well, actually, the thing he was focused on made him feel anything but calm; confessing.

Up until today, he had never really thought about it. Of course, he’d dreamt about it, got lost in his thoughts wishing for it, but he never actually thought he’d have a chance. So now, he was entirely lost on how to go about this.

What would Oikawa even like? Some cheesy, romantic speech? He doubted he could do something remotely close to that. Honestly, it’d be a miracle if he got the words ‘I like you’ out without backing out last second.

Still, he wasn’t going to give up now. The determination he usually only felt on court came to fuel him, and he was thankful for it. It made his blood rush in the best type of way. He was full of adrenaline. It made him feel like he could conquer the world. And maybe, that was exactly what he needed to do.

Even with all the confidence and drive, the fear never entirely left. He really hoped the conclusions he had come to after spending the day together were right. Oikawa loved him as more than just a childhood friend. He had to.

And well, for the small chance that he didn’t, and Iwaizumi had imagined literally all the signs, he really hoped they could move on normally.

“Iwa-chan? Were you listening? Are you okay?” Again, Oikawa’s voice brings him back to reality. This time though, he had actually not been listening. Immediately, he feels bad about it.

Oikawa noticed, because a second later he was looking at him weirdly again. And that’s when Iwaizumi realized, that Oikawa wasn’t just annoyed, or confused, or could tell he was nervous. His best friend was getting worried again, probably about the events from earlier. He looked like he was scared it’d happen again. The attention and worry made Iwaizumi’s heart beat a little faster, though he wouldn’t admit it.

“Sorry,” Iwa smiled weakly, “No need to look at me like that. I was just thinking,” he admitted, smile growing fonder. What he said was true, so he didn’t think Oikawa would question it. He was wrong.

Oikawa narrowed his eyes, like he usually did when trying to solve a math equation, before eventually nodding. “About me, I hope,” he grinned, and relief flooded his cheeks. So, maybe Iwa was right after all.

Iwaizumi nodded, “Actually, we’re here,” he said quietly.

He was pointing to their right. They had left the main road a while ago, and had been walking through a small park since then. Just now, they reached a bridge.  
It wasn’t big, but it looked to be made of concrete to some extent, which assured them that they wouldn’t be risking their lives stepping on it. In fact, the closer they got, the bigger it looked. Probably three or four people could be walking next to each other and still fit.  
In the middle of it, there were two wooden benches, placed almost right next to each other. Luckily, there was no one else around.

Oikawa looked at him questioningly a first, but Iwaizumi didn’t stop to explain. Instead, he pulled him along until they were sitting down, leaning against the backrest.

Well, actually, Iwaizumi had decided to lean against Oikawa’s shoulder. He didn’t notice any significant change in his best friend’s posture, or breathing, at that, which made him think that this had to be okay, right?

Just a moment later, Oikawa’s arm wrapped around him, and he smiled to himself, glad that the brunette couldn’t see his face like this. He was sure he would have been teased for it. After all, it was one of the rare moments, in which Iwaizumi was the one initiating contact. Well, thinking about it, he had kind of done it for most of the day. Oikawa was simply too dense.

“You know, Iwa-chan, you’re kind of being a real sap right now. Are you sure you’re okay?” Oikawa asked, but there was no bite in his question, just like there hadn’t been, any other time he genuinely wanted to know if his best friend was alright.

“Yeah,” he replied, but Iwa’s voice sounded a little hoarse.

“You sound like shit,” Oikawa countered.

“That’s what I think every time I hear your voice.”

Again, they’re both smiling in silence. It’s such a perfect moment, he actually dared glancing up at him. When it didn’t work the way he wanted it to, he pulled away some more, and before he knew it their faces were so close, he could feel Oikawa’s breath on his face.

“Uh,” Iwaizumi started, but he immediately felt his face heat up. Okay, fuck, this might be harder than originally expected.

He pointed up again, “You were always cheesy enough to want to stargaze on a first date, right?”

And as soon as the words left his mouth, he remembered something. It happened just a couple minutes ago, maybe an hour or so. Something he said, something really, really stupid.

Okay, by now he wasn’t sure if he wanted Oikawa to remember it or not. Did it really matter? No. What he said didn’t count as a confession, so it was irrelevant. Even if he had asked Oikawa out on a proper date right then and there, totally direct, it didn’t count… right?

The reminder sparked his determination though, so, when Oikawa was going on about how Iwaizumi was actually the one who brought him here, which was why he was the cheesy one, the ace just moved closer again.

“Shut it, trashykawa,” he said, smirk appearing on his lips, as he slowly brought his hand up to Oikawa’s chin.

Again, there was some sort of tension. He didn’t know if he got it right though. Was this what people were referring to when they talked about sexual or romantic tension, or was Oikawa this uncomfortable? He’d find out soon enough, no point in thinking about it now.

To his surprise, Oikawa didn’t just freeze physically, but apparently his brain did as well. There was no sound coming from his mouth.

“I got something to say, so listen closely,” he warned, before intentionally roaming the guy’s face for any sign of major discomfort. When he didn’t find anything, he sighed.

“I actually wanted to go on a date with you, and I want to take you out again because I’m pretty sure I-“

He didn’t get to finish, before he felt Oikawa move, which momentarily made him stop. He looked away from him, but Iwa used his hand to turn his best friend’s head again, so he was forced to maintain eye contact. Iwaizumi needed him to know that he was serious about this, just this once, he needed him to endure.

Of course, he didn’t want to torture him though, so he sighed and pressed his lips together. For just a second, he considered not saying anything else, but he needed to finish what he started. Only then, when his eyes caught Oikawa’s lips again, did he realize that the guy looked amused.

Oikawa’s strange reaction was making him second guess everything. “D’you want me to shut up or something? Just say it,” he offered, but Oikawa grinned weakly and shook his head, almost like he was entertained by the rection. He didn’t say anything else, so Iwa finally got to the point.

“Fine, well, I think I’m in love with you, so that’s why.”

And as soon as he said it, Oikawa started laughing.

Immediately, his cheeks went red, and he started feeling nervous. Was it really that absurd and unbelievable? Had he really just made an idiot out of himself? So, he had been wrong this whole time after all?

God, how embarrassing. Oikawa would never let him live that one down, especially with how dramatic the whole thing was. At least he got it off his chest, and they could try to move on in a couple days.  
Or that’s what he’d be telling himself the next few weeks, months maybe. At least until graduation, for sure.

But when the laughing stopped and the grip around him tightened instead of letting go, he was confused. His head shot to the side, and their eyes caught each other again.

“Man, that took forever. Like, way longer than I expected, Iwa-chan! And here I was thinking you’d have the guts to just straight up tell your crush you liked them as soon as you realized it. Do you know how long I’ve suffered because of that assumption! Silently pining for months!”

Somehow, this felt like a déjà vu. Someone was talking to him, like he was supposed to know what they were saying, but he really didn’t get anything.

The only part of that he actually caught, was when Oikawa took a deep breath, looked at him expectantly, and asked, “Iwa-chan, your boyfriend is waiting for a kiss. God, have I mentioned it’s no wonder you’ve never been in a relationship?”

His eyes widened, he looked around, then moved his hand from Oikawa’s chin, down to his shoulder, and back to his cheek. Okay, this was real. Wait. What the fuck.

And obviously, he didn’t hesitate any longer before leaning in and pressing their lips together, into somewhat of a rough first kiss.

It was chaotic, Iwaizumi had no idea what he was doing. He couldn’t think about anything, well, except for the fact that he loved the feeling and needed more of it. Oikawa on the other hand was surprisingly dominant during the kiss, so Iwaizumi let him do most of the work, let him guide him through it.

As cliché and obnoxious as it sounded, it was fucking perfect. As messy as it was, feeling Oikawa’s chapped lips against his own, tasting the fake-strawberry flavor with it, breathing the same air as his… boyfriend. That was the word Oikawa had used. Holy Hell. Was this real?

By the time they were pulling away from each other, he could still feel that tingle in his chest, his stomach. His heart was running wild, and he wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t dreaming. Seriously, the moment just seemed too perfect.

Iwaizumi was the first to break the silence after they just stared at each other for another thirty seconds.

“I never said I wanted to be your boyfriend, you know. Man, that’s actually quite a demand. No one made it longer than two weeks. You think I want to be burdened like this?” he deadpanned, but Oikawa only rolled his eyes.

Both of them he was lying. In fact, Iwaizumi could hardly imagine anything better than being Oikawa’s boyfriend. It was something he had literally dreamt about, like, last night, even though he would never admit it if asked.

“You should see the way you’ve been looking at me for the past hour,” Oikawa eventually said, proving that he indeed did know, that Iwaizumi really wanted to be with him.

Iwaizumi let out a chuckle. Oikawa’s confidence was cute. “I’ve actually been looking at you like that for, like, three years. Makki and Mattsun noticed. Probably everyone on the team, really.”

“Oh.”

Now if making Oikawa speechless wasn’t a fairly regular occurrence for him, he might have been proud of winning that one. Actually, scratch that, he still was.

“So,” Iwa started. He wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but Oikawa glanced over at him, expression mostly curious.

When he didn’t get any more than that, he looked away again, but spoke up instead. “Same. I mean, not exactly three years. But a while. I…have actually been dating so much to try and find someone who’d make me forget you,” he stated, the smile that followed even more fake than the one he put on around his fangirls.

Iwaizumi knew he was right to have stayed quiet and waited, when Oikawa continued a couple seconds later. “So much wasted time, you know?” he frowned.

Iwaizumi let out a deep breath. He took another moment to think of a reply, but once he gathered the words, he didn’t bother hiding his soft smile. “I don’t think it was wasted. We spent it pretty well anyway. And we’re going to keep spending, like, all our time together, right? I mean, getting rid of you is something so unrealistic I can’t even dream of it.”

Luckily, that earned a pout from Oikawa. A fake one. “Mean, Iwa-chan! I know you actually love me!” he complained.

This time though, he realized what he had said. His face turned red and he actually shook his head in embarrassment. Seeing Oikawa so flustered was a rare treat, really. He only waited a second before sparing him though.

“Yeah, actually. But you’re still annoying.”

Then kissed him again, and Oikawa was wrapping his arms around his neck, and it felt like this was what they had been doing for the past decade and a half, like it was what they always were meant to do.

* * *

**Bonus:**

Going back to school after a weekend spent doing nothing but lying in bed and making out was tough, but it wasn’t nearly as hard as ignoring Oikawa as soon as they entered through the school’s front gates.

For some reason, Oikawa had been desperate to get back at Matsukawa and Hanamaki.

Personally, Iwaizumi thought it would make more sense to thank them. After all, the two were responsible for them finally getting together.

Oikawa kept denying it though, saying things like ‘Iwa-chan, you have to believe we would have found our way without these two idiots as well!’ just to earn another eye roll from his boyfriend.

As unnecessary as it was, Iwa didn’t plan on sitting it out, or ruining whatever the setter wanted to do. So, he said yes without thinking much more about it. That was when he didn’t know what his boyfriend had in mind yet.

He shouldn’t have agreed. As soon as he heard about that plan of his, he knew Oikawa was just being petty.

If it was just Hanamaki and Matsukawa this was going to affect, it would’ve been one thing, but considering they would be the ones suffering just as much, he didn’t want to do it.

Sadly enough, Iwaizumi quickly realized he was much easier to bribe when Oikawa was the one offering attention and kisses. He never thought he’d be such an affectionate person, but he couldn’t help himself when a certain pretty brunette was around.

So, he agreed to go with it for a day. Pretend they hated each other, and that it was all their teammates’ fault.

The first few hours were the worst. Iwaizumi spent most of them scowling at his phone, even as he sat in class. He kept waiting for a text from Oikawa, that would tell him they could stop.

It didn’t come though, not even at lunch. By then their friends were obviously getting worried.

While Oikawa would usually try to steal Iwaizumi’s food, or at least talk to him, the two were sitting as far apart as they could now, not even making eye contact.

The look on Matsukawa’s face was honestly priceless. He looked confused, but so, so worried. It was like he wanted to ask, but didn't dare to at the same time.  
Maybe, just maybe, Oikawa and Iwaizumi were indescribably evil, but when their eyes met for a second without the others noticing, they had to hide their laughs.

Only by the time practice was over – which Oikawa had spent not tossing Iwaizumi even once. It was sort of boring, but Yahaba was nice enough to offer setting for him when he noticed what was going on - it was obvious they wouldn't last much longer.

By then, the rest of the team had noticed as well. The first and second years were clearly too scared to mention it, but when Hanamaki finally snapped, they didn’t hide their curiosity.

It was in the changing rooms, right after practice, and it took everything in Iwaizumi to not start laughing immediately.

“Seriously, what the hell is up with you two! I get it, you went on a date, but what could have happened that made you act like... whatever this is!?” he exclaimed. Matsukawa was by his side in no time, asking him to calm down, but Oikawa was quick to continue the show.

“I wanted to get to know someone new! Instead, Iwaizumi ruined my date!” he responded.

Everyone’s eyes kind of widened, Mattsun even took a step back. The use of Iwa’s full name had really done it for them.

Soon enough, he knew everyone was watching him, but he just kept his head down. He wanted to play along, but he was too busy trying to hide his amusement.

“What? But..” Hanamaki looked confused, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It made sense. After all, he had been so sure Oikawa was in love with Iwaizumi. Now that he was told differently, he was in shock.

“Oh.” Mattsun said at the same time, quick to realize that they were the ones at fault.

He was about to open his mouth again, but then Kyoutani stormed into the changing room – he had been held back by the coach earlier and looked entirely furious by now – and everyone’s attention was on him instead.

He glared at everyone - especially at Oikawa - until his gaze eventually landed on Iwaizumi.

“Saw you on Saturday. Congrats,” he stated, but he didn’t look even close to happy.

By then, Iwa couldn’t stay quiet anymore. He let out a laugh, then another, and soon enough he heard Oikawa chuckling as well.

Neither of them bothered explaining, so they just kept changing while everyone stared.

When they were done, Hanamaki spoke. “So, are you going to tell us what the fuck is going on?”

Oikawa smirked and shook his head before walking up to Iwaizumi, wrapping an arm around him, and pressing a kiss to his lips.

“Got you,” he sung proudly instead of actually answering, earning another confused look. They walked away then, knowing that both of their friends were watching them, speechless and lost. They would be fine though. Knowing Makki, he'd probably be texting them about double dates by tonight.

“Idiot,” Iwaizumi mumbled when he felt Oikawa's eyes back on him. He still kissed his boyfriend though, right as they rounded the corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much if you've made it this far!


End file.
